


A League Unlike Any Other

by Gears112



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Allister is a cinnamon roll, Allister needs a hug, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beet | Bede Needs a Hug, Brotherly Angst, Business Partners, Crushes, Developing Relationship, Dysfunctional Family, Extended Families, Fae Magic, Fae Opal, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, First Dates, First Meetings, Flashbacks, Foiled Confessions, Friendship, Galar-chihou | Galar Region (Pokemon), Gen, Good Dad Rose, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Group chat, Gym Challenges (Pokemon), Headcanon, Implied/Referenced Human Experimentation, Kalos-chihou | Kalos Region (Pokemon), Mentors, Minor Spoilers, More characters to come, Multi, Mythology References, Not Beta Read, Oleana is tired mom, Pokemon, Pokemon Gym Leaders, Pokemon Possession, Prompts Welcomed, Psychic Abilities, Secret Crush, Sibling Bonding, Supportive Gym Leaders (Pokemon), Team Rocket (Pokemon), The darkest day, There's a heirarchy of 'A+ Parenting', You thought Bea's parents were bad?, more tags to come, technically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 34,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21507595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gears112/pseuds/Gears112
Summary: A series of one-shots/drabbles focusing on Galar's brightest, bravest, and most skilled of Gym Leaders in their day-to-day lives, exploring their relationships between each other, the champion, and newest challengers to the Gym Challenge.
Comments: 140
Kudos: 430





	1. A Ghostly Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opal helps out Bea in convincing her baby brother in expanding the food he's willing to eat, when she finds the young trainer a bit far from Stow-on-Side

...

“Now this is something you don’t see everyday,” Bea turned to see Opal walking up to her in the Poke-Mart. “You’re a bit far from the gym, aren’t you?”

“Allister’s being fussy again.” Opal nodded, remembering the small dark haired child that hid in the shadows while his sister trained. “He’s supposed to start eating fruit, but he’s refusing to try the stuff near the gym…” Opal chuckled. 

“Ah, he is at the age where if it isn’t covered in sugar it isn’t actually food, isn’t he?” The young trainer nodded simply, looking several years older with the look of determination on her face.

“He says he only eats ghost food.” Opal let out a chuckle. 

“Is that so…well, that is certainly a challenge then...I suppose it has been vetoed to just trick him into eating something?” Bea nodded.

“We even tried having Leon eat stuff in front of him, like what he does with his baby brother, but he just got a stomach ache and puked on Nessa.” Opal managed to keep a straight face, but she tucked that mental image in her back pocket for when she needed a favor from the boy in the future.

“Well that was your first mistake; Leon, for as charming as a boy he is...he’s something else.”

“He was late too….” Bea agreed before shaking her head and turning back to the fruit on display and making a face. "These are the same ones as the ones at home..." Opal rolled her eyes and tapped her cane, knowing full well that with the strength that the trainer had, despite her age and size, would send the _slightly_ older woman flying. Bea looked at the woman curiously, who returned the look with a mischievous smile.

“If you’d let me, I think I have a way to convince your brother to eat fruit.” 

.

* * *

.

Gloria sighed softly as her stomach growled in annoyance; maybe she should’ve snacked on something before letting Hop drag her to the mural near Stow-on-Side before getting sidetracked and leaving her waiting at the base of the stairs near the gym. 

“...Why?” She perked up and saw Allister, still wearing his gym clothes and mask, holding a grocery bag.

“Oh hey,” Gloria said gently. “I’m waiting on Hop, he said he wanted my help with the mural up there, but you know him; if it’s shiny, he’s gotta chase it…” She sighed softly and her stomach growled against. “I probably should just head over to the mart and-Oh?” She looked at the round dark pink color fruit that Allister handed her. “Um...? Thanks, what is this?”

“Pomegranate.” Allister said simply as he sat next to Gloria, pulling out another fruit like the one he gave her. “It’s my favorite.” At Gloria’s visible confusion, he sighed and after putting his fruit back in the bag, he took back the fruit and opened the pomegranate, revealing the seeds. “Eat these parts.” He handed back to her before going after his own, eating the seeds like popcorn, and gracefully keeping his mask mostly on. Gloria tentatively copied the younger trainer before letting out a surprise.

“W-Wow! These are kinda cool!” Gloria saw Allister smile under his mask. 

“Ms. Opal showed me a while ago.” He said sheepishly before lighting up. “She told me the story of the pomegranate and it’s really cool! D-Do you want to hear it?” Gloria smiled sweetly.

“Of course!” Allister’s eyes lit up behind his mask as he turned on the stairs to face Gloria, almost forgetting about the fruit in his hands, telling Gloria about the story excitedly, unaware that his sister managed to catch the moment with her Rotom Phone and immediately opened up a new chatroom.

.

_BeaStow’d: [Attachment.jpeg] Gloria’s gonna get you good when Al finishes the story_

_MsPoplar: I suppose I will warn Bede later, but at least he’s not complaining about it not being ‘ghost food’ ;)c_

_BeaStow’d: Fair Point. I’ll keep you posted on the reactions :) Hopefully Gloria handles ghosts stories a lot better than a certain fashion disaster_

_MsPoplar: Somehow, I don’t see that becoming a problem ;)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pomegranates are often associated with the myth of Hades and Persephone, and Hades is often associated with the Underworld/Ghosts


	2. The Man, The Myth, The Walking Fashion Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pair of snippets starring Chairman Rose that pay no heed to the actual story of Sw/Sh

..

There were few things that made Oleana visibly angry or upset.

Cheaters in the League Challenge, things that made running the businesses more difficult, remarks about her pokemon, those were the obvious answers to what could tick the woman off. However, those were things she could handle with ease and the ruthlessly sophisticated grace she was known for.

Her boss and his inability to dress himself like a normal adult was another thing entirely.

“Ms. Oleana? What’s wrong?” The grass gym leader asked gently as he had spotted the woman, face in her hands outside the Monostoke stadium. The woman didn’t respond, only pointing to the Chairman, who was laughing as he was sprawled onto the ground, dressed in a rather bright pink business casual shirt and a pair of dark blue pants as Leon was fighting his own laughter.

“T-There’s not that much spinning, sir,” Leon managed out. “You’re not evolving Milcrey!” Rose laughed as he got back up to his feet.

“Right, right, let me try this again,” Oleana groaned as Milo smiled sheepishly.

“Ms. Opal gave him the shirt?” Oleana nodded. “Well, she is trying to convince people to wear more pink...and the chairman does like to please,” Oleana gave Milo a look.

“At least when he was helping Allister, it was Halloween and that’s an appropriate time to dress ridiculous.”

“Yeah! Just like that Chairman!” Leon exclaimed as Rose finally nailed the Charizard pose. The older man punched the air, clearly excited on nailing the Champion’s signature pose. Milo chuckled, smiling softly before stealing a glance back at Oleana, who had a soft smile on her face, shaking her head.

“Oh! Oleana!” Oleana’s face fell as the chairman turned to her with a childlike grin. “Why don’t you try Leon’s pose?” Oleana blinked slowly, as if the chairman spoke another language.

“What?”

.

* * *

.

“What are you looking for Chairman?” Rose perked up as he looked from the articles of clothing to see Melony looking at him, curiously.

“It’s getting that time of the year for sweaters, and Circhester is known for the best winter wear.” Rose smiled cheekily before letting out a sigh. “But I promised no lights, no tassels, and no Damanaritians so I’ve kinda been lost here.” Melony smiled gently. 

“And Oleana shot down Delibirds as well?” Rose nodded.

“Apparently they’re not ‘professional’.” He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I get that I have to be a professional, running the League and Macro Cosmos, but that doesn’t mean I have to be boring.” He deflated and Melony couldn’t help but chuckle; he was very much like the children that challenged the League.

“Well, while Delibirds are a popular theme,” She mused. “I may have seen a few sweaters that might fit your fancy,” She led him over to the other side of the shop and needless to say, enjoyed the selfie Raihan posted of Rose wearing the Perrserker themed sweater, while Leon and he were in matching dragon-type themed ugly sweaters Rose had found while Oleana was wiping her face in the background, clearly done with the most powerful children in the league.


	3. Momma Melony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When visiting the other Dual-Type Gym, Melony notices that something is off with Allister and takes matter into her own hands to help the boy out.

...

To say that Melony was the mom of the League would be a bit of an understatement.

The Ice Type Leader continuously made sure that the other gym leaders, and even the Chairman and Champion to an extent, were taken care of, so when she heard sniffling as she entered the main area of the gym, the other trainers of the Stow-on-Side gym knew that it was going to be Bea’s turn to handle the gym, at least for a little bit.

“Allister, what’s wrong?” Melony asked gently.

“‘M fine.” Allister mumbled, wiping his mask where his nose was with his sleeve. Melony chuckled softly as she crossed her arms.

“Allister, you know if you’re not feeling well, you can always ask Bea or one of the others to handle the challenges for the day. Even Leon can help,” Allister shook his head, swaying more than when he usually walked. 

“Leon gets lost.” Melony stole a glance at the boy’s Gengar, who had freed itself to make sure its trainer didn’t face plant and patamined what Melony figured; Allister didn’t want to bother his older sister, so he kept quiet about being sick. Melony shook her head before picking up Allister. 

“Come on, you’re going to bed.”

“B-b-but-”

“Gengar can handle the challengers until Bea shows up. He has a wonderful trainer who showed him the ropes, right?” Allister grumbled, obviously attempting to argue, but his body betrayed him as he leaned against the woman as she headed to the back area of the gym. “Now, let’s see...your masks are in the closet on the left, right?” Allister immediately pulled back and looked at her, surprise obvious. “Well, if you don’t want to continue being sick, we’ll need to change out the masks.”

“You’re not gonna make me not wear ‘em?” Melony smiled gently.

“Of course not, you only need to take it off the old one for a moment, so you can wipe your face, and you can have a fresh mask to wear.” Allister weakly nodded. “Do you want me to help or do you think you can handle it while I start making some soup for you?” Allister sniffled and Melony realized that leaving the young trainer was going to have to wait as it looked like the boy would fall over with a gentle breeze. She helped remove his mask and wipe off his face before helping him put on the fresh mask. Allister laid against Melony, wrapping his arms around her neck.

“You’re warm.” Melony heard him mumble as she found the side room where the two leaders slept in when it was their week for running the gym. She chuckled.

“Circhester is a very cold place to stay in.” She explained before she realized that he wasn’t going to let himself go, especially if the soft snoring from the leader was anything to go by. She chuckled and adjusted her grip on the boy before heading to the kitchen to start on something to help Allister get better. "Sleep tight, Allister,"


	4. Gym Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble with Allister and Oleana as the stars as Allister comes to the Chairman's office for some help to deal with a problem, and Oleana shows him the different options he has.

...

“He is in afternoon meetings until the offices close, Mr. Allister.” Oleana said simply and Allister sighed, his disappointment obvious, despite the mask. “But I can assist you as best I can.” Allister looked at Oleana curiously, as if he wasn’t sure about it.

“You promise to not tell anybody?”

“I always have non-disclosure agreements when it pertains to the Gym Leaders.” Allister blinked and Oleana’s face momentarily flushed in embarrassment, no doubt remembering that Allister was probably no older than the gym challengers themselves. “It means that I will not tell anyone anything.”

“Oooh…’m kay…” Allister nodded before he sighed. “I-I wanted to ask M-Mr. Chairman if it was possible to m-make the gym rules a l-little bigger for people to see…” There was a slight eyebrow raise from Oleana. “I-I mean it isn’t that big of a d-deal b-but-” Oleana offered her hands for Allister to take and he gripped them tightly, trying to calm himself down.

“Too loud?” Allister nodded slightly. “Too arrogant?” That got a stronger nod and Oleana nodded; Allister was by far the youngest Gym Leader, and with that came the consequences of those who didn’t understand the concept of that yes, the Leaders were still people, and that just because the egos were bruised, didn’t mean you had to take it out on the Leaders themselves. Oleana let a small comforting smile escape as she looked at Allister. “I take it that Bea doesn’t know…”

“She’d kill ‘em.” 

“That would be counterproductive for the League Challenge.” Oleana noted, knowing full well that Allister was dead serious in relation to his sister’s protectiveness. “Perhaps Opal could assist in dealing with them?” Allister looked hesitant.

“...what do you mean?” Oleana stood up and led Allister to the desk and pulled up a folder of old videos on her computer.

“A few years ago, there was a pair of rather rude trainers that took the challenge,” Oleana explained as she pulled up the video. “Your sister had just started as the Leader of Stow-On-Side’s Gym, and they…” Oleana paused, obviously trying to think of the best way to explain it. “Well, they did not see the talent that the Chairman and your parents saw in her.” She helped Allister into her swivel chair and pulled up her own chair before playing the video. Allister saw his sister, younger and keeping her stone-cold battling face on, but he saw her fists vibrating as she was standing within earshot from the two trainers that were more than a little angry that they lost to her and taking it out of the Gym Referee, who was standing in between Bea and the two trainers. Allister felt his stomach lurch as he saw the pain on his sister’s face, though a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Oleana calmed him slightly, as in the video, a black haired woman waltzed into the gym. Allister frowned slightly and turned to Oleana, who offered up a wink and gestured back to the computer screen. Allister did as he told as he watched the woman not so subtly push between the two trainers and gracefully ignore them as their anger was now directed at her. Allister watched as his sister looked at the woman, the smallest bit of confusion on her face before the black haired woman turned to the referee, making big doe eyes and being rather dramatic. The referee seemed to recognize the woman and rubbed the bridge of his nose before raising his hands up to stop the arguing. The trainers seemed moderately surprised before they grabbed their pokeballs and called out their pokemon as the referee stepped back towards Bea and the black haired woman called out her pokemon.

“Wait…” Allister frowned before looking closer at the woman, a smug and playful look on her face as the battle started before she made a waving motion and judging from the reactions of the two trainers, their pokemons’ defenses had fallen. “M-Ms. Opal does that!” He looked at Oleana who smiled.

“She has several tricks up her sleeve.” Oleana said as she paused the video. “Opal would be more than willing to help you deal with the trainers in her own...unique way.”

“She wouldn’t turn ‘em into pokemon, right?” For a moment, Allister could’ve sworn that he saw genuine concern and confusion on her face before it was back to her normal neutral face.

“That would involve quite a bit of paperwork that I do not believe that Opal would wish to do.” Before Allister could question if Oleana believed that herself, the office phone rang and Oleana quickly answered it. “Chairman? What is-How did-I understand sir, I will contact the janit-” Allister heard the cry of a pokemon and raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly the meeting was for as Oleana hung up, letting out a sigh. “Someone’s pokemon decided to release itself and join in on the meeting and it’s refusing to get back in its pokeball.”

“At least it didn’t dynamax,” Allister offered sheepishly and Oleana looked at him before chuckling, nodding.

“That is certainly true Allister…”


	5. A Chairman Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Oleana visit the newest champion and his family and we see that Hop was always at a 20 at the minimum, even as a little kid.

...

“Mr. Chairman!” Rose chuckled as the door swung open and the 10 year old beamed brightly. “You came!!”

“Of course Leon, and I didn’t get lost this time.” The kid giggled as his mother walked up to the door. “Mrs.-”

“Mom! This is the Chairman!” Leon interrupted excitedly. “He’s the one who endorsed me and let me take on the challenge! And he helped me not get lost sometimes!” Rose watched Leon’s mother hide her smile as the boy talked excitedly before his eyes lit up and he turned back to Rose. “Mr. Chairman, you wanna meet my baby brother? His name’s Hop! He’s playing with our neighbor Gloria and they’re loved watching the exhibition matches!” Leon continued on, taking Rose’s hand and dragging him into the house, Rose laughing all the while, as Olean looked momentarily concerned.

“Would you like some tea, Ms. Oleana?” Leon’s mother offered. “The chairman and Leon might be a while…” The woman nodded slowly, sighing in defeat, as the chairman said his hellos to Leon’s grandparents as Leon tried to find his baby brother and friend, who were in the younger boy’s room, looking over trainer cards.

“Hop! Hop! Hop! C’mere!” The youngest kid perked up at his brother’s voice and he and his friend hurried over. “This is Mr. Chairman Rose! He’s the one who gave me my en-”

“He’s the reason why you’re gone all the time?” Hop whined and Leon looked like his heart broke. Rose took the reigns, smiling gently and getting to one knee.

“Your brother has a lot of talent, Hop, and I thought it was a good idea to endorse him and have him take on the gym challenge, and he did a good job, didn’t he?” Hop made a so-so motion and Rose raised an eyebrow. “I mean he became Champion, didn’t he?”

“Hop liked it.” Gloria noted quietly. “He woke up the Wooloo with his cheers.”

“Glo!!” Hop whined, trying to hide his flush.

“And the champion has a lot of responsibilities,” Rose said simply, continuing. “Now, it’s not like it’s my job as Chairman, but there are a lot of things the champion needs to do to keep the region safe.”

“But he’s so busy…” Hop whined. “I’ve got to help herd the Wooloo all by myself!” Gloria nudged him and he huffed. “With Gloria’s help, but it’s still a lot.” Leon rolled his eyes and Rose smirked.

“Well, I suppose I can try my hand and help you two out.” The three looked at him with wide and excited smiles.

“You have pokemon too!? I gotta see this! Come on! Come on!” For the second time in the day, Rose was dragged through the house, barely managing a wave to Leon’s mother and his secretary before they were outside and in the field where the Wooloo were relaxing, too used to Hop and Leon’s energy. Hop was bouncing up and down in excitement as Gloria merely smiled up at the man. “Come on! I wanna see your pokemon!” Rose laughed as he grabbed a pokeball.

“Alrighty then, Come on out!” He tossed the ball and Perrserker came out, rubbing its face and yawning. “This is-”

“What about your cufant?” Hop asked, confusion obvious as Gloria harshly nudged him.

“Too big Hop! It’ll scare the Wooloo!”

“Pfft, that’s silly!” Gloria and Hop started bickering and Leon covered his face in embarrassment as Rose’s pokemon glared at the man, as if to say ‘you woke me for _this_ ’.

“Hey, hey, let’s not fight you two.” He said before scratching his head. “I mean, unless you two want to show me how you two battle,” Hop and Gloria froze and stared at the man, who smiled mischievously.

“But they don’t have any pokemon…” Leon pointed out. 

“Well, I think they’d be ok with borrowing one of ours, right?” Leon’s eyes went wide as he scrambled to pull out his pokeballs and showed his brother his team. Rose chuckled as he offered took out his team for the very serious-face little girl. “Now, my team isn’t the most diverse, but it’s not always about the type advantages.” Gloria looked up at him curiously. “It’s about how well you lead your pokemon in battle.” She nodded firmly before pointing to Perrserker. “Perrserker then? Good choice, he’s a good boy and a good listener.” The feline made a sassy remark but melted under Gloria’s head pats as Hop beamed as he picked Haxorus.

“Imma use him!”

“Why not Charizard?” Leon asked and Hop rolled his eyes.

“Cause he’s your pokemon, duh.” Rose bit back a laugh at Leon’s face as Gloria and Hop attempted to make serious faces at each other before they burst into laughter, especially as the Wooloo started to swarm over to the group, thinking there was going to be treats passed out, and when none were being immediately handed out, took to trying to eat Leon’s hat and Rose’s suit instead.


	6. Art of Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring a Head-Canon of mine where a Kalos Character is related to Gordie and Melony.

...

“Well, you boys are going to have to pay for that.” Opal crossed her arms as the two boys stared at the floor in shame. The slightly taller of the boys, she recognized as Melony’s boy, looked up sheepishly.

“Y-You’re not going to tell my mom, are you?” Opal raised an eyebrow.

“Depends.” Both boys looked up at her, clearly nervous about the idea about what the Fairy-Type Leader would constitute as worthy enough to buy her silence. “You boys have curry kits, right?” Two nods. “Well, I’m feeling a bit peckish, so how about a Whipped Curry? Do a Charizard-Class worthy curry, and I’ll pretend nothing happened.” Opal couldn’t help but internally chuckle as Melony’s boy squirmed, clearly debating on whether it would be better to have his mother know he accidentally broke a shop window while training.

“Alright.” Opal was pulled out of her musing by the boy next to Gordie. “I will do it.”

“Bee, you sure?” Gordie whispered. “We don’t have-”

“I’m going to do it. You grab the cream and a check what berries we have; I’ll set up.” Gordie looked hesitant but nodded and hurried off to the pokemart while the other boy started to unpack the curry kit. Opal herself took a seat on a nearby bench and watched as the blond quietly put the pieces together.

“Rather confident, aren’t you?” She mused, testing the waters to see how to get under his skin. “Not a lot of trainers are versed in curry-making.”

“Practice makes perfect.” Was the simple response.

“Planning on over taking that curry loon in the Wild Area?” 

“No ma’am.” Opal pursed her lips, about to comment on the ‘ma’am’ comment. “I am going to the Lumiose Academy for Culinary Arts in the fall and I need to make sure I am not left behind.” Opal blinked slowly, taking it in.

“That’s a bit of a trip from here.” She noted and the boy shrugged as he finished putting the pot together and started starting up the fire. “I do know a gym leader there, rather nice young fellow...Ramos I believe his name was? Good with gardening...” The boy nodded slowly as Gordie trudged back, follow back by his mother. “Oh, Melony, I thought you were Circhester…”

“I was able to close the gym early and I wanted to visit the toy shop here, and I found Gordie…” She trailed off as she saw the broken window, lips pursing as Gordie hurried to the other boy and handed him the ingredients as asked for. “Opal, what’s going on?” Without missing a beat, Opal shrugged.

“I’ve issued the boys a challenge regarding their curry skills.” She said simply and Melony raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. “As for the window, I haven’t got the slightest idea; I arrived on scene and it was broken.” Opal shrugged and Melony sighed softly, earning a smile from Opal before there was a yell of excitement from Gordie.

“That looks great Bee!!” 

“Grab me a plate Gordie.” The boy said in mild frustration as the other blonde scrambled for the plates, as if forgetting the reason for this meal anyways. The two adults watched the lankier blond direct Gordie in plating the curry. Gordie gave a plate to his mother, while the other boy handed the other plate to Opal, who took the plate and scooped a small spoonful into her mouth as the boys got their own plates for their pokemon.

“O-Oh my!” Melony exclaimed. “This is amazing boys!” Gordie looked over at the other boy who blinked in surprise, holding his magikarp’s plate frozen as he was going to put it down.

“R-Really?” Opal finished her bite and chuckled.

“Just the perfect amount of sweet, if I say so myself,” She noted. “I mean, I do prefer a tad more pink, but I doubt there’s a curry out there that’s as pink as I’d like.” She chuckled before taking another bite. “You’re probably going to leave all those other kids behind, if this is anything to go by.” The blond’s face went bright red as Gordie nudged him excitedly.

“See, I _told_ you, you were great!” The boy mumbled his thanks as Gordie’s pokemon and the wild pokemon tried to sneak some more of the curry. “You’re gonna have the most famous restaurant in no time!” Opal chuckled and snuck a look at Melony, who was smiling slightly as the two boys interacted with each other.

.

* * *

.

_Years Later_

Spending most of her life in Galar, Melony was admittedly surprised that official League matches elsewhere didn’t have the same spectacle as Galar. Sure, the setting of this exhibition match was grand, and there were a few people mingling here and there, but this certainly wasn't the scope of even a regular match back home.

‘ _Perhaps it would’ve been better if Gordie and I battled privately instead of all of Circhester watching..._ ’ She thought to herself before a tap on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts.

“Madame Melony?” She turned and looked at the literal knight standing next to her. “Duke Wikstrom,” He introduced himself and Melony’s eyes widened.

“Oh! Yes!” She chuckled. “Please, Melony works fine for me, there’s no need to be formal!” Wikstrom raised an eyebrow. “You are a friend of the family, there’s no need for formalities,”

“Very well,” He said, smiling. “The exhibition match will be starting soon,” Melonu beamed brightly; the very reason she was in Kalos in the first place.

“Wonderful! I can’t wait to see how well he does!” Her face fell slightly. “Gordie would’ve probably enjoyed this too…” Wikstrom looked momentarily confused before realizing who she was talking about.

“He was also invited for the exhibition showings as well; it is a week-long event whenever members of the League change hands. He will more than likely see another exhibition match, but if not, then I have been told to tell you that you have explicit permission to ‘rag on Gordie’.” Wikstrom even made the air quotes, which Melony found to be the most adorable thing ever, especially as the man looked at her confused. “I am admittedly still catching up to the word play that the younger trainers still use…” The knight chuckled before checking the time. “Ah! They should be getting ready now, shall we make haste?” Melony chuckled.

“Lead the way.”

.

* * *

.

_Later_

“Bee!!” Honey, Dew, and Winter exclaimed as they saw the blond man enter the gym, who chuckled and managed to hand off the bag to his Clawizter before he was tackled by the three children, Jade staying back momentarily, helping the Nurse Joy finish up with the current trainer’s team before heading out to tackle her cousin. “It has been a while, hasn’t it!?” He managed to get to a knee and made a show of measuring each of the triplets. “My, you three have grown quite a bit, haven’t you? You’ve been behaving for your mother though, right?” Three various speeds of nod earned a chuckle as the man looked at the youngest girl of the household. “I see you’re getting tall as well...you might be able to surpass me in the future,” Jade giggled slightly.

“Don’t be silly Bee, I’m not gonna be that big!”

“You brought us som’ing, right?” Dew asked, earning a chuckle from the man as his older sister groaned.

“Oui, yes, I did bring a few things, _but_ it requires your mother or your older brother, or preferably both to be here too.” The triplets shared a face at the idea of having to wait, while their sister looked a bit hesitant, earning a sigh from the blond. “They’re still not speaking with each other?” A so-so motion and the man rubbed the bridge of his nose as one of the other triplets, Winter, spotted the man’s brooch.

“What’s tis?” The man looked at the boy, momentarily confused before realizing what he was pointing at. He smiled.

“That is my Key Stone, Winter. It’s what I use to mega-”

“Bee?” The blond looked up as Melony was walking into the main lobby, followed by Opal, and the newest Champion of Galar. “Oh! You didn’t tell me you were coming!”

“I wished to surprise you all.” He said, managing to stand up, before offering a bow to the other trainers. “Ms. Opal, mademoiselle.” Opal chuckled and leaned on her cane.

“Be grateful that we finished training, or else the kid here would wipe the floor for not acknowledging her.” The man rolled his eyes as the triplets made confused faces or tried to sneak towards the pokemon holding the bag. 

“My apologies,” The man said, chuckling, before facing Gloria. “I am Siebold, of Kalos’s Elite Four.” Gloria’s eyes widened in awe.

“We totally have to battle!” She said excitedly, which caused the triplets to get excited by the idea of a battle, earning laughter from Opal and Melony. “I gotta be prepared for anything, right?”

“I’ll have to call Bede back from his errand; he will certainly want to watch this,”

“And battle me next?” Gloria retorted and Melony chuckled.

“Gordie come too?” Melony looked hesitant about the idea from Honey, but Opal took the attention for the triplets before they could see their mother’s face.

“I’m sure that Gordie would have to come see his favorite cousin. After all, who else bailed him out multiple times when you two were training?” Sielbold went red as he rolled his eyes and coughed. “Now how about one of you direct me to the phone so I can call Gordie?” The triplets took the bait and led Opal away from the family as Jade offered to help get Gloria’s team ready, leaving Siebold alone with his aunt. They were silent for a few moments before Siebold spoke.

“Quite a bit has changed since we talked, hmm?” Melony sighed deeply.

“I pushed too hard.” She admitted. “I wanted him to become the next gym leader, but he wanted to pursue rock types...and Circhester has always been an ice type gym…”

“I saw the battle.” Melony looked at Siebold in surprise; of course she knew that the match was public, considering the circumstances, but for her nephew in Kalos to have seen it? Now that was a tad bit embarrassing. “It is no secret that I am from here, so people wanted to know my thoughts on the matter.” Melony felt her face heat up in embarrassment as Siebold shrugged, pausing; studying his aunt. “I do have a question for you though, Auntie,” Melony looked at him in confusion. “Do you consider battling an art?” Melony blinked in confusion but before she could answer, Gloria and Jade hurried over, followed by Opal and the triplets, who were trying to explain Gordie’s pokemon to the woman.

“He will be here shortly.” Opal said when the triplets stopped to catch air. “They,” She gestured to the triplets. “Were marvelous in making sure that he wouldn’t get lost.” Melony chuckled as Siebold took the bag from his pokemon, the pokemon most annoyed at being left to the side. “That’s a little small to be curry, child,”

“Curry, for all of it’s benefits, does not travel well.” Siebold argued before getting out the package. “Poffins, creampuffs, and macaroons, however, do.” Opal’s eyes rivaled the triplets and the two girls’ eyes as Siebold handed out the treats. Melony managed to snag one for herself, and her oldest son when he arrived, and as Siebold explained the flavors, mused on what he had asked her.

Battling as art?

The concept wasn’t a foreign one, that was a given, but still, it felt strange to think of it as something that one would study and treat like the murals in Hammerlocke, Monostoke, or at Stow-on-Side. Those were constants, there for generations to see, but battling? Unless you were at an event that was going to be recorded, the battle would just be a memory between those that engaged and those that witnessed it. Surely that wasn’t what was constituted as art, was it? She pursed her lips, thinking further on the concept of battling as an art form; she knew that social media had dubbed her style of battling as chilling and graceful, like a ballet, she recalled one reporter mentioning once. She was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard her son enter and they were all but dragged to the pitch by the triplets.

.

* * *

.

“I haven’t seen Bee battle in a while…” Gordie chuckled as he sat on the bench on the other side of Jade, watching as his cousin took the pitch along with Galar’s champion, though for the first time, not wearing her gym uniform in the arena, a request from Siebold, joking that he’d never hear the end of it from his coworkers (“Malva is very particular about fashion and one’s choices in that department”). “And what’s this about a surprise?” His mother shrugged as Opal mused.

“I do have a theory…” She mused before looking at Bede. “What do you think child? An Elite Four member verses Gloria?” Bede shrugged.

“At least there won’t be any obnoxious selfies when he loses.” Gordie managed to catch his snort at the not-so subtle jab at the region’s dragon trainer. Opal snorted as Siebold adjusted his cravat.

“Are you ready to see true art?” Gloria beamed mischievously.

“Let’s do this!” The trainers set out their pokeballs and Melony couldn’t help but feel the rush of excitement of being a spectator, watching the battle between Gloria’s team and Siebold’s own. She was a bit surprised admittedly by the flower-like pokemon, and was silently grateful that Bede had a Pokedex on hand to report what pokemon it was. (Opal made no effort to hide her approval of a Fairy-Type on his team, to which Dew had remarked that it couldn’t be because ‘it wasn’t pink’, which earned some laughter) A few pokemon later, Siebold had called out his Gyrados while Gloria’s Hatterene did not look impressed.

“Bee’s got something up on his sleeve…” Gordie said slowly. His mother looked at him curiously.

“What do you mea-”

“It’s got a necklace like Bee!” Honey exclaimed, pointing to the pokemon, which did have a charm tied around one of the fins.

“Are you ready to see the power of a Mega Evolution?” Siebold teased as he adjusted his brooch, the gem on him and on his pokemon glowing before the pokemon was engulfed in light. 

“What is _that_?!” Bede exclaimed, getting to his feet, before catching himself and trying to regain his composure, though the smile on Opal’s face made it clear that Bede wasn’t fast enough as the Gyarados, now Mega Evolved. Melony couldn’t help but shudder, remembering the exhibition match and the explanation that her nephew gave her afterwards, explaining about these powerful stones that resided in Kalos, powered by the bonds between trainer and pokemon. It reminded her a bit of Gigamaxing in a sense, though from how he explained it, it was just the stones that needed to be found, not a special pokemon. Gloria, for as on the spot as this was, took the surprise in stride. She managed a few hits before gigamaxing her pokemon, which landed a critical, fainting the pokemon and winning the battle. Siebold recalled his fainted pokemon and smiled as the two shook hands.

“Thank you Gloria,” He said, a smile on his face. “You have drawn forth the strength of Pokémon with your own particular style and method, and the memory of this battle will stay with me within my heart.” Gloria beamed brightly.

“It was a lot of fun! And a really cool challenge!” Gloria said before looking at Bede. “You took notes, right?” Bede’s face flushed and he scoffed.

“You say that as if I would even bother entertaining the idea of sharing anything I learn with you.” Siebold rolled his eyes.

“It is the duty of both Trainers and Chefs to find the good in any raw materials they have to work with.” Siebold explained. “There lies the answer to reaching ever higher in the bonds with your pokemon.”

“That was soooo cool!” Honey, Dew, and Winter hurried over to their cousin, swarming both Siebold and Gloria, demanding answers for questions asked 99 miles per second, while the others took their time to come over. Opal looked over at Melony and smiled as she saw the woman smile peacefully at seeing her family interacting with each other like old times.


	7. Fiery Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short drabble/one shot of Kabu and Flannery with a flashback, the whole 'evil team' thing, and a nod to the fact that Nessa and ORAS Shelly look very similar.

...

_“Welcome Puny Trainer!” Rose covered his mouth as the 6 year old stood in front of him, doing his best to hide his smile at how adorable the child was, slightly dwarfed by the torkoal. “You did good to make it here!”_

_“I appreciate that.” Rose said. “But I’m not actually here to battle; I’m here to speak with the gym leader.” The girl’s eyes went wide, completely thrown off by the request._

_“Uh…”_

_“I mean, unless you are the gym leader,” The girl looked at the pokemon with wide eyes before looking at Rose._

_“Really?! I-I mean-”_

_“Flannery, where did-Aha!” A man, maybe a few years Rose’s senior, entered the gym. The girl hid behind Rose and the man winked at Rose, asking him to play along. “Drat, I could’ve sworn I saw her running around. You! Trainer! Have you seen Flannery around?”_

_“No sir, I was merely speaking with the gym leader.” Rose said and the little girl started giggling. “My name is Rose, and I am the Chairman of the Galar Pokemon League, and I have heard great things about the Lavaridge leader, so I had to come and see for myself.”_

_“Well, that’s certainly strange, cause I am the leader of this gym, but I was looking for Flannery, who told me we were playing hide and seek.” Rose gasped._

_“Have I been tricked? Oh, I’ll never hear the end of it from Opal if someone out-tricked her! And here I was going to bring a gift to the leader.”_

_“Gift! I wanna gift! I’m the leader!” The girl exclaimed, hopping up and down before realizing that she spoiled her hiding spot. She sheepishly looked at the floor as the true leader came over, chuckling._

_“Flannery, what did I say about running off?”_

_“Not to do it...b-but I was with torkoal! So I wasn’t by myself! And you weren't here, and Grandfather says that the leader at all times has to be in here, just in case!” Rose finally broke as he hunched over, laughing at the far too adorable ‘leader’. “H-H-Hey! What’s so funny?! You’re not supposed to laugh at a Gym leader!”_

.

* * *

.

A soft smile escaped Kabu’s face as he watched the Hoenn native dote over his fire types. It had been far too long since he left the Hoenn region and his grand-niece so the surprise visit from the Lavaridge Leader was a nice change of pace.

“He’s a cute little guy!” Flannery laughed, scratching the chin of his ace pokemon. “Bugsy would be over the moon to see this guy; he’s always about the Bug-Types.” 

“Well, hopefully a photo will suffice.” Flannery laughed in agreement as she pulled out her phone and took some photos for her friend.

“Yo! Kabu!” Kabu raised an eyebrow as he turned and saw Nessa and Milo jogging over to them. “What are you doing?” Kabu smiled.

“I am enjoying the day with my visitor,” He said, pride obvious in his voice. “Flannery, these are my fellow Gym Leaders; Milo and Nessa, this is my grand-niece, Flannery!”

“Pleasure to meet you ma’am!” Milo said, shaking the girl’s hand as Nessa made a small wave before turning to Kabu.

“You’re just full of surprises, huh?” She asked. “How come you never told us about her, hmm? You afraid Raihan would try and sweep her away?” Kabu tensed slightly.

“Hardly.” Flannery raised an eyebrow.

“I helped handle Team Magma and Aqua, I think I can handle-” Kabu snapped back to her as she covered her mouth in shock, obviously not intending to spill that. Milo and Nessa exchanged looks.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s not really that big of a-” She sighed as she saw his face, not even hiding the confusion and concern. “It was a pair of evil teams, ya know, want to take over and capture the legendaries, fulfill their goals or whatever, ya know?” Milo, Nessa, and Kabu stole glances at each other before Milo spoke.

“We only had two guys try that…I think.”

.

* * *

.

_@Lavaridge_lass: Yo @Archie @Maxie!_

_@HighSeas: Whaaat? It’s 2 AM here!_

_@Lavaridge_lass: I’m just being nice, giving you two probies a heads up, no need to be so rude._

_@HighSeas: ???_

_@Lavaridge_lass: [attached: udeadbth.jpeg] Uncle found out about you two. Better notify Shelly and Courtney as your next of kin._

_@HighSeas: Maxie says to pouOHASKJNF-I do not say that! I said that it’s your fault! If he’s going to kill anyone is;a:VDOBGsr-_

_@TeamMom_Aqua: Hey! Glad to see you’re alright in Galar! Is that the Galarian Model, Nessa in the background?_

_@Lavaridge_lass: Yeah! Tbh I thought she was you when Uncle introduced me to her haha ^^;_

_@TeamMom_Aqua: Haha! My untapped market! Don’t worry ‘bout the dork brigade, me and Court will handle it! Make sure you grab autographs though; Wallace won’t let you live w/o one!_

_@Lavaridge_lass: Haha Will do!_


	8. Swim Lessons, Take 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding out that most of the gym leaders don't know how to swim, Nessa attempts to rectify that, though considering the dynamics of the League, she might've had a better time wrangling Wooloos.

...

“I’ll turn to ash.” Allister tried to say and Leon looked at him with disbelief.

“If the chairman doesn’t, neither will you.” Rose feigned offense.

“Excuse you, I’m not _that_ bad.” Leon gave his boss a look as he adjusted the Chewtile themed floaties on Allister.

“Besides, Nessa’s adamant about giving everybody swimming lessons so you know she’ll find us if we skip.” Allister huffed, crossing his arms and pouting, despite the mask. Leon smiled gently. “Next everybody gets together thing is your choice,” Allister perked up.

“I-It is?”

“Most definitely.” Rose said as he grabbed the extra towels. “No matter what Oleana says, you have next month in bonding activity.” Allister smiled, knowing that the two were trying to help.

“...thanks…”

“Let’s have a champion time in the meantime!” Leon said brightly as he took a towel and led the way out of the dressing room.

.

* * *

.

_“You hired her?” Rose rolled his eyes playfully as his grandmother looked over his work shown on his desk when she visited him._

_“Nan, you’ve seen her work and her work ethic; it would be insanity to not hire her.” His grandmother just made a peaceful hum, as if she knew something he didn’t._

_“Yes, I’ve seen her work. I’ve also seen how you watch her work.” Rose frowned._

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“She’s not unattractive.” He sighed and rubbed his temples._

_“Nan. I don’t and will not have any plans on sleeping with my secretary.”_

_“Wasn’t speaking to that, my child.” Rose raised an eyebrow as he got a patronizing cheek pat, earning more chuckles. “One day it’ll click, but in the meantime, I trust that you will behave yourself.” Rose chuckled, chalking it up to his grandmother being in a mood._

_“Nan, I don’t understand you sometimes.”_

.

* * *

.

“You’re not coming in Opal?”

“I’m providing tactical moral support.” The Fairy-Type Leader said as she laid on one of the pool chairs. 

“She already knows how to swim.” Nessa said, arms crossed. “But you guys? It is a vital-”

“Not all of us have to deal with obnoxious water types, Ness.” Raihan started to say before getting tackled by Nessa, causing a bit of a splash. Allister sighed softly, kicking his legs as he sat on the edge of the pool, his sister sitting next to him as Leon stood next to the two in the pool, the water up to his stomach.

“Do you think Raihan will become a Dragon Ghost pokemon when Nessa kills him?” Leon asked and Allister shrugged.

“She’s not going to kill him,” Bea pointed out.

“There’s nobody to replace him.” Rose pointed out as he floated on his back over to them before frowning as he tried to look around. “Where’s Oleana? Didn’t she get roped into this too?”

“She’s still in the dressing room.” Opal said simply. “Melony’s helping right-”

“Sorry we’re late!” As if on cue, Melony and Oleana came out, the taller blonde hiding behind the Ice-Type Trainer in the vain attempt to disappear. “Mild shenanigans with finding our swimsuits, but it’s all fixed now!” Allister looked over from Oleana, who was doing her best to hide how uncomfortable with the attention she was getting with the cherry red swimsuit, to the chairman, who was sitting up more, treading water, his face bright red.

“C-Chairman?” Allister asked slowly. “Are you alright?” Nessa and Raihan’s wrestling match slowed down as everyone turned to the chairman, who didn’t seem to hear Allister.

“Giratina dammit my nan was right. Fuck I in love,” Rose muttered far louder than he intended as the entire Galarian League stared at their boss, varying reaction betraying their concern, confusion, and glee at winning some under-the-table bets. Oleana stared at her boss, expression difficult to read, though the rising blush betrayed at least a part of what she was thinking.


	9. A Knight's Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small short/drabble where Bede is exploring outside the Fairy Type gym and meets an old friend of Opal's.

...

“Can I help you sir?” The brunet turned to face Bede and smiled.

“I am waiting...for a friend,” The man said, the edge of an accent in his voice that was sort of familiar to Bede, but he couldn’t exactly pin where he heard it before.

“The gym is less than a 3 minute walk if you want to wait there. You’d be less likely jumped by pokemon than here.” The man chuckled.

“You are most kind, but I do not wish to offend the gym leader,” He explained and Bede raised an eyebrow before the man gestured to the Aegislash at his side. Bede blinked in confusion, chosing his words slowly.

“...Do you not have a Box Link?” 

“Ah! Wikstrom, you’re early.” Bede turned to see Opal arrive behind him. The man chuckled as the pokemon awoke, making a chirp. “Bede, this is an old friend, Wikstrom. Wikstrom, this is my protege, Bede.” The man nodded and Bede noticed the man look to Opal, to silently ask for approval before offering his hand for Bede to shake. Bede shook the man’s hand and Opal chuckled and the man’s pokemon made another chirp. “Alma, you silly thing, patience would be best suited for you.” Wikstrom chuckled.

“You would think he would’ve learned by now, but I believe the newest champion riled him up before we left. She does enjoy playing with my pokemon when challengers are not around.” The pokemon offered a sassy comeback, earning a chuckle from both adults as Bede was still a bit perplexed. “He does remember to behave though,” The pokemon cooed in confirmation, confusing Bede further as Opal smiled.

“Wonderful. Then shall you and your pokemon join us for tea?” The man bowed.

“I would be most honored,”

.

* * *

.

“A steel type specialist?” Bede asked curiously as the man took a sip of tea. 

“Yes, that is the type I am most comfortable using.” Wikstrom said. “I have attempted my colleagues’ specialities, but it was not my thing, as Serena would put it.” He chuckled before explaining. “She is the new champion of Kalos.” Opal made a bemused hum.

“I do recall Siebold mentioning that in passing when he visited Circhester the other week.” Wikstrom nodded in agreement.

“Do you...have a mega evolution as well?” Bede asked, and Wikstrom nodded.

“Yes, my Mawile is the one capable of Mega-Evolution...she is quite pleased with the reactions she receives when it comes time for that.” Wikstrom chuckled softly.

“Could...I see it?” Bede asked warily, obviously trying to keep the question as casual as possible. Wikstrom chuckled nervously.

“I am not quite sure about-”

“I think it would be a good idea.” Opal said suddenly, grabbing the attention. “Be good to put your training to work my child.” Wikstrom watched Bede’s eyes grow with excitement before he attempted to collect himself. “I will clear the tea, go get yourself ready.” Bede nodded as he quickly excused himself. 

“I can see why you chose him,” Wikstrom mused with a smile on his face as he helped the woman place the dishes in the sink before the two walked out into the lobby and saw Bede keeping a stone cold face as he was metaphorically cornered by the woman. Opal frowned and was about to grab the attention but Wikstrom stopped her. “Allow me.” His pokemon slipped from his side and slunk into the shadows, a little ‘quirk’ of his ace pokemon. Opal watched with an eagle eye as the Kalosian Knight walked over to the two. “Excuse me, Bede, could you assist me in accessing the PC?” Bede looked at Wikstrom in confusion as the woman crossed her arms.

“Excuse you, I am speaking with him.” Wikstrom turned, as if he wasn’t aware she was there.

“Hmm? Oh, pardon me madame, I did not see you.” Opal watched Oleana’s eye twitch in annoyance. “Perhaps you can also assist me with the PC? I am not the most adept with technology.” 

“It is imperative that Bede returns to Wydon. Now.” Wikstrom blinked dumbly.

“Says who?”

“None of your business.”

“Well, it certainly is my business considering the scene you are making.” Wikstrom noted. “Now, what is the business that he has to delay our battle?” Oleana sneered as the Aegislash rose from the shadows behind her.

“The chairman does not have the time-”

“Oh, Chairman Rose? He is still in charge of the League, even after the incident with Eternatus?” Oleana tensed. “News does travel fast.”

“The chairman willingly stepped down from the League.” She said shortly. “He merely wishes to speak with Bede.”

“Then he can bring himself here.” Bede watched with wide eyes, wondering why Wikstrom was throwing himself under the bus? Did he not know about Oleana’s ruthlessness?! He was about to step in, when he saw the Aegislash make the motion similar to placing one’s finger over their lips. “Unless of course he is incapable of being able to handle himself.” Wikstrom made a bemused hum. “The tabloids have noted he has put on a few-” Bede stepped back in horror as Oleana swung at the man, unable to contain herself. Wikstrom merely caught her fist and chuckled as he kept a firm grip on her fist. “Ms. Oleana, you do understand that there are consequences for attacking a member of the Elite Four?” Oleana’s eyes widened in horror as Wikstrom chuckled. “But I will be willing to look the other way if you are to make haste and go back to Wydon.” Wikstrom kept up his smile as he released her hand. Oleana stepped back before storming out, the pokemon nodding at its trainer before following to make sure she left. Wikstrom turned to Bede. “I do apologize for overstepping any-”

“The Kalosian Elite 4.” Bede said, his confusion rather adorable. “How did I not piece together that?!” Wikstrom chuckled.

“Well, I am in normal attire.” He offered, gesturing to his grey sweater and dress slacks. “Even my colleagues have difficulty recognizing me when off hours.” Bede smiled slightly before looking at the doors of the gym, Opal immediately coming over to comfort her foster grandson as Wikstrom offered a smile as his Aegislash floated back and offered a chirp. “She is making her way back to wherever,”

“She’ll be back…” Bede muttered softly, not even bothering to hide his concern. 

“Like I said previously, if Rose wishes to speak with you, he is more than capable to come here himself.” Wikstrom said before smiling softly. “But let us focus on more light hearted endeavors! We have a battle and a Mega Evolution to witness, correct?” Bede looked up at the man and smiled slightly.

“Yeah…” Opal ruffled the boy’s hair.

“With a little more oomph now child! It may be an exhibition, but you need to show him that you mean business!” Wikstrom bit back his chuckling as the flustered child tried to shove off the woman before they eventually made it to the field.


	10. A Knight's Visit 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: Bede gets more Grandparents
> 
> A sequel to the previous chapter with Wikstrom visiting the fairy gym

...

“He is doing quite well.” Opal mused playfully to the Nurse Joy as they watched the battle between the member of the Elite Four and the new Gym Leader. “They are not holding anything back.”

“Even with the type disadvantage, he is going very well…” The nurse agreed before looking at Opal. “Will you inform the young master about Wikstrom and his...” The nurse trailed off and Opal chuckled, leaning on her umbrella.

“His little situation?” The nurse nodded simply. “The child is a clever one, I believe he will figure it out soon enough.” Wikstrom called out his Mawile and Opal smiled proudly as Bede’s excitement was obvious. The Kalosian Knight adjusted the ring on his finger and the pokemon and ring glowed as the energy enveloped the pokemon, changing it into its mega form.

“Whoa…” Bede managed out before smirking. “Hatterene! Mystical Fire!”

“Mawile! Dodge it and strike with Iron Head!” Opal chuckled at the nurse, who tensed and looked away from the battle, covering her eyes. 

“The Leader’s Hatterene is unable to battle!” Opal’s face softened as the referee called the battle and Bede recalled his pokemon, while Wikstrom’s Mawile transformed back to normal and landed on its rear with a rather adorable ‘oof’ sound before Wikstrom recalled it back as well and shook the boy’s hand.

“A glorious battle Bede!” Wikstrom said proudly. “I have not had one like that in years! Winning against such a worthy opponent doth give my soul wings--thus do I soar!” Opal rolled her eyes as she got up and came over.

“You’ve never changed, Wikstrom,” She muttered, whacking her umbrella upside the man playfully before turning to Bede. “Wonderfully done my child. You certainly gave him a run for his money.” Bede smiled softly and nodded.

“My team and I will need to train for speed and defense.” Bede said firmly. “Next time we battle, I will win.” Wikstrom laughed brightly.

“I certainly look forward to it!” There was a buzzing sound and Wikstrom looked momentarily confused before he scrambled to his pockets and pulling out a phone and checking the message. “Ah! I almost forgot, Drasna was invited to the Hammerlocke Gym to meet with the leader for lunch and invited me to come…” He looked at the two of them. “Would you both like to join me for lunch?”

“Drasna...she is the dragon type member of Kalos’s Elite, correct?” Opal asked and Wikstrom nodded. Opal nodded before smiling. “My child, I trust you will make sure that Raihan will not make a fool of himself.” Bede looked at her in surprise.

“You’re not coming?”

“I will make sure that Oleana makes good on her promise.” Opal said simply, though there was a mutual sense that there’d be an ‘accidental’ rampaging Dynamaxed pokemon near the gym. 

.

* * *

.

_“Chairman Rose?” The Kalosian Elite Four looked at the one person who would even remotely recognize the name. “I faintly recall a trainer in the year my cousin and I were technically enrolled in the League named Rose.” Siebold frowned slightly. “Ah, yes, I remember, he placed second overall…lost because of a technicality.”_

_“Oh my, that is heartbreaking….” Diantha said and Siebold shrugged._

_“His father was the champion so that certainly didn’t help matters.” He said, sighing. “The resulting drama was a nightmare.” He shook his head, trying to remove those memories. “Nowadays he runs the league...I believe that he did help fund the Dynamaxing research that Professor Magnolia recently came out with.” Wikstrom involuntarily shuddered and Dransa offered a comforting smile and patted the knight’s hand._

_“We should keep an eye on things, then,” She offered gently. “Just in case.” The others nodded in agreement._

.

* * *

.

“How do you know Opal?” Bede asked curiously as he sat across the man as they took the flying taxi to Raihan’s gym. Wikstrom smiled softly.

“I was visiting the region many years ago, when I became lost and jumped by wild pokemon…” He chuckled nervously. “Particularly a Dynamaxed pokemon.”

“They happen outside of Power Spots?” Wikstrom made a so-so motion.

“They are very rare, and extremely dangerous, but yes.” Wikstrom sighed, looking out at the wild fields below them. “At this was at a time I hadn’t fully recovered from...my last encounter with Dynamaxed pokemon and I froze.” Bede nodded slowly, remembering the first time the chairman showed him Dynamaxing before he frowned.

“The last encounter?” Bede asked. “Did that have to do with your Aegislash not completely fainting before you recalled him?” Wikstrom raised an eyebrow, but had a smile on his face. “I know the referee called the pokemon knocked out, but the damage the attack did should’ve left him damaged but still capable to battle.”

“I was wondering if you had noticed.” Wikstrom mused playfully. “Very few people recognize what happens when I battle,” He was quiet for a moment before sighing softly. “The actions of the Azoth King caused many horrors and the fact the Ultimate Weapon granted him eternal life caused many concerns...someone was chosen to watch the kingdom and the former king, and considering the skill Honedges have in relation to souls…” Wikstrom trailed off with a nervous chuckle. “It’s still a very strange thing to explain properly, admittedly, so I apologize for brushing-” Bede shook his head, holding a hand up.

“It’s fine. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve dealt with.” Wikstrom raised an eyebrow. “The professor’s assistant.” Wikstrom slowly nodded, unsure if he wanted to ask but they arrived at the city, where Drasna was waiting with Raihan, who was trying to rope the older woman into a selfie, but was getting smothered by the woman’s Altaria. “What in the world?”

“Oh! Hello there!” Drasna said cheerfully. “I am Drasna, and Alatria’s having a bit of a moment with Raihan...she never did outgrow sitting on heads.” Wikstrom chuckled and whistled. The pokemon perked up and cooed, using Raihan as a springboard and hopped one the man’s arm, nuzzling his head and cooing. Bede chuckled as he brushed away some of the feathers from the pokemon.

“This pokemon is from Hoenn, correct?” He asked and Drasna beamed.

“Yes, she is! She was a surprise trade from a friend who thought she would be a perfect fit for me!”

“Which would definitely be true,” Wikstrom said gently as the Altaria looked at Bede curiously before gently nudging him. “Oh, she seems to like you!” 

“It’s fluffy enough to be a fairy type,” Raihan mused and Drasna chuckled softly, as if he was making a joke, which earned her curious glances from Bede and Raihan. Wikstrom chuckled.

“You cannot leave it at that Drasna,” He laughed. “Perhaps we can have a battle after lunch?”

.

* * *

.

_Dragon_King: [attached duuuude.jpeg] OPAL LOOOK HOW FOHUJFN COOL THIS IS!!_

_Ms. Poplar: Your caps lock is stuck again._

_Dragon_King: IK BUT LOOK @ THIS POKEMON!! IT’S DRAGONFAIRY!!_

_Ms. Poplar: I know. Mega evolution is something else, isn’t it? I’d pay attention to the battle though._

_Dragon_King: I GOT IT BUT THX!! ILL SEND VIC POSE LATER!!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raihan posted a defeat selfie later that day.


	11. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very short drabble where Bea tries to fight through a cold and stubbornly tries to argue with the boss about it

...

“Chairman! I-I need-”

“You need to rest.”

“B-But Al-” Rose gently pushed Bea back, making her stay on the bed, the girl attempting to scramble out of the infirmary where she had woken up. Rose sighed as he recalled the panicked phone call from Dan, who had managed to catch the girl as she fainted before any actual trainers showed up.

“Kabu is picking him up at school and making sure he gets something to eat before coming here. Gordie is covering the gym until then. Oleana and Leon are covering my meetings scheduled for today.” Rose couldn’t help feel sorry for Bea as despite the fact that she was trembling with each breath, she was still trying to fight on. Rose sighed. “You know that when a pokemon is knocked out, it doesn’t receive the experience like the ones that make it through the battle, right?” Bea looked at him like he was nuts but nodded. “Well, similar case. You’re not going to be able to grasp any experience if you’re knocked out. Best to be at 100 then at 0.” Bea gave him a look as she weakly crossed her arms.

“I can still train, I am not that weak.” Rose sighed softly.

“You’re going to get yourself hurt. Weakness or not, it’s stupidity to ignore what your body tells you.” Bea frowned, but Rose wasn’t relenting. “So unless you want me to call your Sirfetch’d and have him sit on you, you better listen.” Bea didn’t seem to buy it, but she was leaning back up against the headboard.

“Why would he listen to you?”

“Besides being your boss?” Rose asked deadpan before smirking and placing a hand to his chest. “I happen to know the best way to make jelly doughnuts.” Bea stared at her boss for a few moments before speaking.

“So you think you can bribe my pokemon.” Rose shrugged.

“It’s worked when I needed Raihan and Piers to work together.” Rose admitted absently. “Though between us, I think that you could probably bribe that flygon with a toothpick and it’ll do anything to mess with Raihan…”

“Why does Piers not like you?” Rose looked at the young gym leader, whose expression was hard to read. “Even Opal likes you, and you have the type advantage over her gym.”

“She tolerates me, let’s be real. And Piers doesn’t like me because I’m the man.” Bea’s confusion was momentarily visible.

“W-what?”

“I’m part of the man, man.” Rose couldn’t help but smile. “That’s what he told me when he was your age and I still haven’t gotten an explanation for it.”

“He’s weird.” Bea mumbled, slumping against the headboard, obviously trying to stay awake.

“To each their own.” Rose said. “I mean, Oleana only drinks iced tea, and Raihan has to have a selfie of everything..” Rose snorted as he recalled something. “Man, the one time he wasn’t allowed to take photos on a trip, you could’ve told me he was being forced to release all his pokemon.” Bede raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Rose’s face flushed in embarrassment.

“Ah, yeah, the leaders used to partake in yearly visits to neighboring region to round out skills and what not...but recently things have come up which prevents that…” He forced a laugh. “Nothing like being in the middle of Kanto and having to talk Shieldbert on how to handle a dynamax chewtile over the phone!” Bea didn’t react and Rose made a face back. “It’s not a fun experience, especially with Swordard offering his training advice in the background.”

“Who?” Rose smirked playfully.

“Oh, I haven’t told you how they got those names, huh?” Bea shook her head slowly and Rose nudged the tissue box closer to her. “However, you didn’t hear this from me, alright?” Bea just blew her nose with the faintest of eye rolls. “Anyways, let’s start at the beginning…”


	12. Endorsement Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a drabble/short exploring an idea I had where the endorsement thing meant more in the realm in the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -For this story, I'm seeing Oleana as the 'big bad' who, in order to stop the player, revoked your and Hop's endorsements when you confronted her after she revoked Marnie's endorsement (probably blaming the Team Yell)  
> -The Minor League Chairman is this universe's Shieldbert (w/better hair and a better name, which actually means shield & wolves, so win win)  
> -This is before Bede would hypothetically lose his endorsement and get adopted/endorsed/pink-napped by Opal (which would play out different in this AU)

....

“This doesn’t make any damn sense,” Gloria watched as the Minor League Chairman pace. “Why the hell would Oleana do that outside of making our lives harder?” Rose shrugged.

“I have no idea! She’s not responding to any of my calls and nobody at the offices know where she went.” Rose argued. “Everything’s been frozen assets wise, so there's that at least.” Gloria rubbed Hop and Marnie’s arms, trying to comfort her two rivals as they sat, watching the two chairmen and the champion trying to figure out what to do.

“Can’t we reverse the decision?” Leon offered. “I mean this can’t be the first time somebody tried sabotaging a challenger, right?”

“There’s the catch, once the endorsement is taken, we can’t do anything.” The Minor League Chairman said, running a hand through his shoulder length blond hair. “If she had just revoked it, we could just easily scribble a note on it, however unprofessional it is…” Leon growled as Rose pursed his lips before he snapped his fingers, an idea hit him.

“It’s still early enough in the Challenge, we can probably endorse you-I mean usually the tradition is no more than two trainers to-”

“But what’s going to stop her from doing it again?!” Hop exclaimed before sheepishly looking away as everyone looked at him.

“Chairman does have the higher ranking,” Rose said. “So she wouldn’t have the power, barring you not giving her the endorsement paper…” He looked at Marnie. “I know that Spikemuth-”

“I’ll endorse her,” Leon said quickly. “I-I mean, it’ll probably look a little less weird to everybody if I endorsed her than you doing it Chairman. Or at least it’ll make Piers less likely to send Obstagoons to graffiti the tower again!” Rose gave the younger man a deadpan glare as Marnie furrowed her brows.

“And I can sign off on her endorsement so if there’s even an attempt,” The blond muttered before trailing off before looking at the three trainers. “But it’s up to you three if you want to continue the League Challenge.”

“I want to.” Marnie said firmly. “I’ve got a promise to make good on.” Gloria nudged Hop, who was fiddling with his jacket. He straightened up and jumped to his feet.

“Yeah! I gotta become champion after all!” He forced a laugh and Gloria saw the looks of concern between the chairmen and the champion before Rose chuckled nervously.

“Well, if it’s alright with you two, I’ll write the endorsement for Gloria and Randolf will handle Hop,” The other man nodded simply.

“Leon, I hope you can manage not getting lost in grabbing a pen.” 

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” Leon exclaimed, a faint flush on his face and the blond rolled his eyes.

“Me and Marnie can go with you bro!” Hop leapt and grabbed his brother and Marnie’s arms, surprising the girl, though she managed to recover as Hop teased his brother while they walked to get the pens in the neighboring office, leaving Gloria with the two Chairmen.

“Bede’s pretty vocal about being endorsed by you.” She pointed out and Rose sighed softly.

“I know…”

“But you are rather good at wiping the floor with his team, if I can be crass.” Randolf pointed out. “Maybe he’ll even grow out of the ego with your as the other endorsement.” Gloria frowned slightly before crossing her arms.

“You’re doing this more for Hop, then him,” Rose and Randolf looked at Gloria. “It wasn’t exactly private when Bede beat him and said those things.”

“Hop is a kid who grew up in his brother’s shadow.” Randolf said after a few moments of silence. “His entire world is about his brother, and well…” The man trailed off before looking directly at Gloria. “I’m not going to sugar coat it; the world’s not going to be kind to him if he keeps going the way he’s going. So, maybe if he’s endorsed by a different guy than who endorsed his brother, then maybe it’ll work out and help him grow into his own person.” Randolf shrugged. “Or it’ll all go south, who knows. But we are here to help you guys out.”

“Promise?” There was a pair of soft smiles from the chairmen.

“Promise.”


	13. Ghosts 'n Goblins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More adventures in my take on the HCs I have regarding the connections Kalos and Galar have, this time set before the events of both games (or at least the 'Art of Family' and 'Knightly Visit' Chapters). And also, adorable Wikstrom bonding with younger Allister

...

“Ms. Opal?” The older gym leader looked at Allister, the small boy staying in Ballonea for a bit, while his sister took on gym challengers, as the Ghost-Type Gym Leader was holding an old photo that she had in her home. “...Recognize you and Kabu…” He pointed to the younger trainers with each name before pointing to the third young man in the portrait. “Who’s this?” Opal chuckled.

“That is Ramos, he’s a Gym Leader in Kalos, and rather famous for his talent in contests back in the day,” She turned to Allister. “You see, Kalos has a slightly different way of doing it then in Sinnoh or Hoenn. Much more showy.” The boy nodded.

“Lots of people watch I bet…” Opal made a hum in agreement.

“Indeed,” She chuckled at a fond memory before checking her phone. “Hmm...oh!” Allister tilted his head in confusion. “It looks like he is making a visit earlier than expected and bringing Siebold and Wikstrom.” She chuckled and shook her head before looking at Allister. “Would you like to meet them?” Opal smiled gently as she tapped her chin. “I know Siebold will no doubt bring his famous treats and Wikstrom does have a ghost pokemon on him.” Allister’s eyes widened at the idea of sweets and ghost types, earning a chuckle. “Let me text them the rules, and if they do not behave, Mimikyu and Gengar can have them,”

“...thank you…”

.

* * *

.

_“What are your thoughts on the battle between the Circhester Gym Leader and her son?” The reporter interrupted and Siebold momentarily paled but he recovered without the reporters noticing._

_“I am aware of the battle that occured.” There was some furious writing from reporters and looks of concern from fellow gym leaders and E4 members at the panel table with him. “Both the gym leader and the challenger gave it their all in the battle.”_

_“But aren’t you relat-”_

_“Next question.” Diantha said firmly, ending the conversation right then and there. The panel continued for the next half hour, and as soon as it was done, Siebold made a beeline to the green room and slumped onto the couch, letting out a long sigh. He felt the seat dip next to him and heard Ramos’s sigh._

_“Lively bunch of whippersnappers, huh?” Siebold looked at the older man who chuckled. “I remember my first few panels and boy, they certainly jump at any connections with anything. ‘Course for me, they were adamant I was seeing the Ballonea gym leader.” Siebold smiled slightly as Ramos laughed. “Perhaps we can go surprise her with a bit of an early visit...I usually go to see her to pick up my tea leaves around this time of the month, so what’s the harm in a few extra visitors?”_

_“If you are heading to visit Ms. Opal, I would like to tag along as well.” Wikstrom said as he adjusted his gauntlets. “It has been some time since we last spoke after all.”_

_“That a last time within our timelines? Or my great granddaddy’s timeline?” Siebold wasn’t able to catch his snort (and neither were the other gym leaders within earshot) as Wikstrom gave a cool glare to the Grass Gym Leader. “I’m joshing, honest! Here, let me let her know we’re visiting.” He pulled out his phone as Siebold pushed himself to his feet._

_“I best see if I can whip up something for her; her sweet tooth knows no bounds after all and it would be rude to not at least bring something.”_

.

* * *

.

“Why hello there little sprout,” Ramos said gently, waving to Allister, who was hiding behind Opal. “I am Ramos, and behind me are Siebold, and Wikstrom.” The members of the Elite 4 nodded and gently waved to the boy. Allister frowned.

“....the ghost?” He mumbled curiously and Wikstrom chuckled gently and tapped the Aegislash at his side, who chirped curiously and removed itself from the man’s side. Allister’s eyes widened in excitement; sure the pokemon was found in Galar, but that was on a good day in the Wild Area and considering his age, he hadn’t gotten the chance just yet. “A-Aegislash!” The pokemon looked at the boy and made a curious chirp before turning and floating over to Siebold. “H-Huh?” Wikstrom chuckled as Opal tapped her umbrella.

“Wrong way Alma.” The pokemon turned and looked at the Fairy Type Leader. “Come say hello to my guest here, and then perhaps you can have a poffin.” 

“A-Alma?” Allister asked slowly.

“Yes, that is his name.” Wikstrom said gently as Opal gently nudged Allister to the pokemon, who chirped and came closer to the boy. “I have been his trainer since he was a Honedge, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

“Unless food’s involved, then you are on your own.” Siebold noted and Ramos snickered as Allister looked at the chef, making a face under his mask. “We have learned the hard way that-”

“Melony knows you.” Siebold looked at the masked child in startled surprise.

“E-Excuse me?” Allister sheepishly hid behind Opal, realizing that there was attention on him. Opal smiled softly as she patted the boy’s head, comforting him.

“I mean it isn’t that uncommon knowledge that you are from Circhester.” She said, referring to Siebold, who sighed.

“I-I know...it was just a bit startling, that’s all…” Siebold sighed gently. “Kalosian reporters are not the most subtle, that’s all.” Ramos snorted as Wikstrom chuckled as he took a piece of poffin and broke it apart, offering it to Allister’s Mimikyu and his Aegislash.

“As much as Viola would argue, that is not something that changed with history.” He mused. “She is the Bug-Type Gym Leader in Kalos and from a family of reporters, so she is a tad biased.”

“...they being mean?” Allister asked softly and Siebold smiled softly.

“Not quite...they ask me questions that they already have their own answers to...and I suppose it doesn’t help my auntie and cousin have the subtlety of Wood Hammer.” Allister snorted, knowing full well what the chef meant. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, it’s just…”

“Difficult to work around.” Ramos offered before Allister’s stomach growled. The boy blushed in embarrassment as Ramos chuckled. “But enough talk about about that! I think it’s time we try some of these treats Siebold here brought us!”

.

* * *

.

“A knight?” Allister whispered in awe as Wikstrom chuckled, Ramos and Siebold helping Opal clean up the tea and desserts which left him with the shy boy, but thankfully, Wikstrom had some years under his belt.

“Indeed, I am a knight, complete with the suit of armor and everything.” He said simply before making a face. “Though the last champion ‘accidently’ lost my helmet years ago.”

“Accidently?”

“She complained that it must’ve been impossible for me to see anything and that it was no good hiding from the world.” Wikstrom sighed playfully. “She was certainly something else.”

“Sounds mean…” Wikstrom looked at the boy, and smiled gently. “It’s up to you whether you want to show your face is up to you.”

“Verily true Allister...but, I also think she meant well, afraid that if I did not let my walls down, I’d become something I am not. Or something like that…” He chuckled nervously. “Perhaps she wanted to decrease the chances of the Elite Four Member and I engaging in jousting.” Allister’s eyes widened at the idea as Wikstrom mused on the memories.

“...else?”

“Hmm?”

“C-Can you...n-nevermind…” Allister looked at his feet, embarrassed. Wikstrom smiled gently.

“I mean it has been several years since I had the chance to show off the training to young squires,” Allister snapped his attention to the man, eyes wide as Wikstrom stood. “But if you are willing to learn-”

“Am! I am!” Wikstrom beamed.

“Then we shall make haste to the outside so we do not break our hostess’s items!” 

“Don’t do anything that I have to explain to Bea later.” Opal’s voice came from the kitchen and Wikstrom laughed as he called his Aegislash to his side while he and Allister made their way to the door.

“I will try my best, but I shall make no promises my lady!”

“Y-Yeah, we’ll try!”


	14. Dad Rose Drabbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Series of Drabbles starring Rose in the role of Good Dad as the league.

...

“Sir, why did you chose them as Gym Leaders? They’re just kids.” 

Allister wanted to disappear as that question was asked at the required panel he and the other gym leaders were attending along with the chairman and champion as Rose adjusted the microphone to face him. Bea took the Ghost Type Leader’s hand under the table and squeezed it comfortingly, face still composed in her usual stoicism.

“First off, they have names.” Rose gestured to the name cards behind each gym leader, as if the reporter wasn’t be able to see it. “And second of all, Allister and Bea have proven without a shadow of a doubt they are capable of handling the gym challengers. Both together sharing the gym and each on their own, and if there’s any problems with that, I’d be more than willing to accept challengers and we can discuss other options.” There was a bit of an awkward chuckle from the reporters, who knew full well that they could count the number of people would could defeat the chairman on less than one hand. “Besides, there’s no age limit for challengers, so why would the gym leaders have that?” Allister smiled under his mask, grateful for the chairman’s support. “Next question?”

“Chairman, are you aware of the rumors surrounding Gym Leader Raihan and the Champion?” Allister saw Raihan pale, and Leon shooting the Dragon Tamer a concerned look as Rose looked at the two in mild confusion before turning back to the reporter.

“Rumors?” He said before turning the boys and making a face at the Fire-Type Leader. “Kabu, I told you that if the boys were getting into mischief, that you had full responsibility to make them run laps.” Allister turned to see Kabu make a shrugging motion as there was some laughter from the reporters.

“This is the first I’ve heard about any kind of rumors.” Kabu noted and Allister noted that the reporter that asked the question didn’t look impressed.

“There is a rumor that Gym Leader Raihan is seeing the Champion. What are your thoughts about it Chairman?” Rose didn’t missed a beat.

“So long as they give it their all in their battles, I don’t care what they do.” Rose said simply, even offering an apathetic shrug. “Rumors are rumors, and even if it was true, it’s none of my business, and it most certainly isn’t yours. I think we can end the panel here now.”

“But Chair-” 

“Thank you all for coming.”

.

“You’re horrible at panels.”

“It’s my curse to bear.” Rose said simply as he carefully adjusted his tie, loosening it every so slightly, about to slip into the restaurant and join the leaders for an after hours meal.

“Chairman, they’re going to-”

“Let them talk. That’s how they make money.” He said simply, walking past his secretary, who frowned in irritation.

“The sponsors-”

“Are what? Going to drop the winniest champion and the Dragon Tamer of Galar over what? Rumors? Maybes?” Rose turned back to Oleana. “They make them money, and despite what anyone says about morals, nobody wants to lose that cash cow over morals.”

“But what if-”

“It’s true?” Rose chuckled, as if he knew something she didn’t. “Well, the old stories did say that we had two heroes rule Galar at the same time.” Oleana made a face that might have borderline on confused but Rose had already entered the restaurant. She stared at the door for a few moments before sighing and shaking her head, following after the chairman.

“You are a truly strange man Rose…”

.

* * *

.

“Gentlemen,” The pair of Rocket grunts turned as they saw the chairman, a perfect smile on his face. “Pardon for the interruption, but it is a very strict rule in Stow-on-Side that after battle interviews, exhibition or no, are strictly prohibited.” The two grunts looked at the man in disbelief before the taller one whistled to his Ekans. 

“Like we’re gonna listen to some fatso in some mankey suit! Ekans!” The pokemon cried out and lunged at the man, whose Perrserker made quick work of the low level pokemon. “What the-?!”

“I’m only going to ask you once more. Please stop making a ruckus and leave the gym.” The two grunts exchanged looks and growled.

“Now you’ve asked for it, pal! Team Rocket’s gonna make you regret you ever born!”

.

“They’re gone Allister.” Rose said gently as he opened the locker in the back of the small jersey mart, where Dan said Allister had ran as soon as the grunts busted in. The gym leader was curled up in the back corner, trying to make himself as small as possible and Rose smiled gently before sitting at the edge of the locker. “They ran as soon as I finished reminding them of the rules.” He tapped his chin playfully. “You think that we should make the rule board with fireworks?” Allister made a snort sound. “Or perhaps neon lights? I mean I know that Opal would say that’s tacky, but I think she’s biased.” Allister made a confused sound. “Oh you know, she loves that color pink and has to blast it all over the place...Can you imagine if she had free reign over the League’s colors? I don’t think I’d be able to walk around without being mistaken for a Lickitung!” As much as Rose didn’t enjoy poking at his own size, the small comforted giggling from Allister made it partially worth it as the boy seemed to partially relax. “Though maybe it would help with Leon’s fashion…”

“...make it worse.” Allister whispered and Rose pretended to think about it.

“Yeah...now that I think about it, it would probably be a nightmare...and not the kind your Gengar would want to snack on.” Allister looked over at the chairman and the man offered a smile. “Your sister will make fast work of them when they make the mistake of running into them. And I told her that the officers will be conveniently looking the other way.” Allister made a face, though it was hidden under his mask.

“That’s bad though…”

“Breaking the rules of the gym and being members of Team Rocket superseed the normal ‘bad’.” Rose argued before letting out a sigh. “You alright though Allister? They didn’t get a chance to hurt you, did they?” The boy shook his head quickly. “Good.” Rose looked at Allister and offered his hand. “How about we go see if that sweet shop in town has those treats still available? You know, the ones that look like those ghost types in Hoenn?”

“...bring back something for Bea?” Allister asked softly and the chairman nodded as he waited until Allister got out before he followed suit.

“Of course! Maybe we can see if there’s a fighting type themed snack cake to bring back, or maybe something for her Falinks…”

“Or her Machamp! She likes sweets!” 

“Seriously? I always figured her Sirfetch’d was the one with the sweet tooth! Though, does a Sirfetch’d even have teeth?” Allister shrugged as the two of them exited the lobby, heading to the sweet shop.

“....dunno…kinda weird if they do...ask Bea when she’s back from training.” Rose chuckled softly.

“That sounds like a good idea Allister.”


	15. Halloween Hijinx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very short drabble starring Allister, Bea, Rose, and Leon.

..

Halloween in Galar is certainly an experience, even to those that lived in the region their whole lives. Given the childlike and fun loving nature of the Chairman and the literal spooky forest that the Fairy-Type Gym resided in, it wasn’t much of a surprise.

“We have the Cobwebs?” Allister nodded firmly as his sister checked it off a clipboard. “Fake Joltiks? Paper Gengars?”

“Yea.” Bea nodded firmly as she marked it off. “Everything marked off?”

“Everything except the lights...Chairman Rose is supposed to be bringing them…” Allister nodded firmly and Bea resisted the urge to smile, just in case someone had a camera on them, watching her brother continue to arrange and fix the decorations that were already set out; Halloween was his favorite holiday, the one day no one asked questions about why he wore a mask or hung out around Ghost-Types.

“I’ve got it Leon! Don’t worry ‘bout it!” Bea and Allister turned to see the chairman walk into the gym, having some small difficulty carrying a large box of Halloween lights. 

“I mean, Oleana’s going to have my head if you need a chiropractor.” Leon pointed out sheepishly before seeing the two gym leaders. “Hey guys! How’s it going?”

“We are doing alright.” Bea said simply. “We are going through the list of items of stuff for the gym.”

“Excellent! Always prepared is an excellent way of thinking!” Rose said as he got the box to a table. “Any plans yet for Halloween Costumes?”

“Not yet.” Bea stated. “Is it going to be a theme again?”

“No.” Rose said simply. “I’m still being asked about last year.”

“In my defense,” Leon said quickly, not wanting to have the blame on the shenanigans that occured when he and Raihan had not _quite_ understood the theme of the previous year's party and almost caused a bit of a disaster with Oleana and some nosy reporters. “Sonia convinced me and Raihan that it was in theme.”

“And you believed her?” Leon shrugged and Rose groaned.

“...love sick.” Allister noted simply and Leon made a face.

“What? No, me and Sonia have been friends since we were kids! We were rivals, nothing more!” Rose stole a glance at Bea and Allister and mouthed a retort regarding the purple haired man. Allister snickered as a small smile tugged at Bea’s lips. “Anyways, why don’t me and the chairman help out decorating? The more the merrier, right?” Allister looked at his sister, who nodded.

“We would appreciate the help if you two have the time to help.” Leon beamed brightly and Rose smiled.


	16. Meeting a Marquis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Kalosian meeting with the gym leaders of Galar and a flashback to the older Galarian Gym Leader's younger days.

...

“Oh, hello there sprouts,” Ramos chuckled as he came into Opal’s gym, spotting Bea and Allister in the gym. Bea tensed slightly, not recognizing the man as Allister waved slightly. “I don’t suppose you two know where Opal is; She wasn’t at her home when I stopped by so I this was the next spot to check hehe,”

“Who are you?” Bea asked firmly and Allister tugged on her shirt.

“...fine. Friend of Opal.” Bea looked at Allister as the old man chuckled.

“Pardon my manners, my name is Ramos, I’m the grass type gym leader over in Kalos,” He explained. “I usually visit Opal this time of the month to pick up my tea leaves,” 

“She is good at making tea.” Bea noted slowly. 

“Bede and Kabu are battling….practice stuff.” Allister said simply. “Miss Opal’s helping.” Ramos let out a chuckle as he tapped his chin.

“I suppose I can’t be the only coot running a gym,” He snickered. “Is he still dramatic when he loses?” Allister and Bea exchanged looks as the gym doors opened and Kabu, Bede, and Opal exited. “Ah, speak of the rattata!” The fire type gym leader blinked in surprise

“Ramos! What a surprise!” Kabu exclaimed. “What brings you here to Ballonlea?” 

“I’m picking up my tea leaves.” Ramos mused simply as Opal smiled.

“You’re a tad early for that.” Ramos made a face as he felt in his pockets for his watch.

“Wha…” He made a face as he looked at the watch before looking over at the gym’s clock and it was clear by his reaction his watch was a “tad” off. Kabu snorted.

“Haven’t I told you to update your time keeping?” He teased and Ramos shot the man a look. “Just because you garden, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be up to date.” 

“I’m plenty up to date, I just happen to appreciate the solid knowledge of things being able to be used for a long time and look good while at it.”

“Clearly.” Bede, Bea, and Allister turned to Opal, who let out a scoff, covering her face as she shook her head.

“Here we go again…” She muttered under her breath, before clapping her hands, grabbing the two older men’s attention. “If you boys are going to be like this, then at least do the bare minimum and battle for the children here.” Ramos and Kabu looked at her before they both coughed nervously at the realization of the audience. Opal gestured to the door and both men begrudgingly followed the gym assistants back into the gym. “Every time they meet I swear…”

“...not like each other?” Allister asked and Opal shook her head.

“No, no, it’s just a rivalry, much like Leon and Raihan’s.” She said. “Give how opposite they are, it’s not that surprising.” She chuckled softly as she led the children back into the gym. “Right before he had that battle with Leon, there was a minor exhibition between the gyms of Galar and Kalos, it was a good will kind of event...and he and Ramos were picked for a battle. Now Ramos is mostly well known for his contest performances, which while some regions take pride in those kind of events, not everyone sees it as viable as battling.”

“It’s just ordering your pokemon to do certain moves, while in a costume, right?” Bea asked and Opal made a small chuckling sound.

“That is what Kabu said and boy...that was certainly a scene when Ramos corrected him.” Opal chuckled at the memory. “Certainly made the announcer’s jobs easier…” Bede made a face.

“Kalosian contests are different?” 

“More showy.” Allister said firmly as they took their seats near the battlefield as Kabu was stretching as if he was the one that was going to battle. Opal nodded before making a bemused hum, no doubt remembering the event itself.

“Allister is right, it’s certainly more showy than Hoenn contests, but that’s besides the point; Kabu stuck his foot in his mouth and Ramos certainly made him pay for it.”

“As I will do it again.” Ramos said loudly, overhearing the conversation. Kabu made a face, but he laughed.

“I will take that challenge Ramos! Be prepared to see my true potential!” Opal rolled her eyes and stole a glance at her protege and Bea; the two gym leaders ready and eager to mentally take notes on this particular battle, especially given that the Kalosian gym leader was shining a gem on his large gardening shears.

.

* * *

.

_“I do not understand why you’ve contacted me.” Ramos asked as he brushed some of his graying blond hair out of his eyes. “We’ve only battled once or twice,”_

_“But you’re the only one to push his buttons,” The relatively new Circhester Gym Leader said. “You are the only one to have tied with him!”_

_“And he’s refusing to come out for any of us.” Opal pointed out. “We’re running out of options, and neither one of us actually have a way to contact his family in Hoenn.” Ramos sighed, especially as he caught the Fairy-Type Gym leader bat her eyes at him._

_“Fine.” Opal beamed and showed him where Kabu had holed himself up in. Ramos sighed and knocked._

_No answer._

_Ramos sighed and called out his Skiddo, who chirped in confusion and looked up at its trainer._

_“I’m only allowing this once,” Opal made a face, wondering what the heck he was planning. “But go break the door down.”_

_“Ramos!” Ramos looked at Opal._

_“I’ll fix afterwards, don’t worry about it-”_

_“Why are you here?” Opal and Ramos turned to see the door opening and Kabu staring at the two of them in confusion. Ramos smirked as his Skiddo shoved it’s way inside the room._

_“Works every time.” He said before making sure Kabu wouldn’t close the door. “I’ve been told that you’ve hidden yourself away like a misbehavin’ Litleo. What’s going on?” Kabu made a face as there was pokemon chittering from the room; no doubt Ramos’s pokemon finding Kabu’s. Kabu turned from the door and Ramos pushed his way in, Opal following behind and closing the door behind her. The grass pokemon was investigating a baby Numel while the Arcanine nipped at the grass pokemon’s tail. “Oh a new pokemon Kabu?”_

_“Ah, yes...she’s a numel.” Kabu said simply. “My grand-niece sent her over…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he slumped onto the couch. “I don’t know what-”_

_“Don’t even start with that nonsense Kabu.” Ramos said firmly. “I’m not going to listen to some pity party, especially from the man who creamed nearly every challenger that comes his way.” Kabu looked at Ramos as the man sat across from him. “Are you looking for a challenge or better trainers?”_

_“I keep losing every time I challenge the Champion.” Kabu said. “Everything I try doesn’t seem to work. Even the no-hold bars didn’t work...”_

_“Well I mean, I could have told you that.” Ramos pointed out. “You’re doing something you’re not and of course it’s not going to work.”_

_“What-”_

_“Kabu, remember our last battle?” Kabu scoffed._

_“Of course I do.”_

_“You weren’t focusing on trying some sort of get rich quick scheme to win, or something like that; you were focusing on making me eat my words, which you almost did. You can’t just plant a tree anywhere and expect it to bear the same fruits as the ones in its home turf. Stick to your roots and you’d be surprised what fruit you’ll bear.” Kabu stared at the man._

_“How do you handle the constant losses then? You’re an early gym in the Kalos circuit, right?” Ramos shrugged absently._

_“It is, but it’s still a challenge for those unprepared.” He said simply. “But as to answer the question, a loss is a learning experience; a chance to grow and see what needs to be changed ever so slightly; like growing slightly crooked to get more sunlight, or provide shade for the little buggers that eat-”_

_“Ramos, he’s not a plant.” Ramos stuck his tongue out at Opal_

_“It’s a metaphor, at least I’m not waxing poetically in a semi-dead language like Wikstrom.” Opal chuckled softly as Kabu raised an eyebrow. “He’s a peculiar fella but it comes with being older than the league itself. Point is, take the losses as like a learning curve and then-”_

_“Aha! Finally Chair-Oh…” The door opened and the relatively new champion looked at the three adults. “This isn’t the chairman’s office…Did I get lost again?” Opal laughed gently, shaking her head as Kabu chuckled._

_“Leon, you’re certainly something else.” Kabu gestured from Ramos to Leon. “Ramos, this is the Galarian Champion, Leon of Postwick. Leon, this is Ramos, he is the gym leader in Kalos.”_

_“Oh cool! I haven’t gotten a chance to meet other gym leaders!” Leon said excitedly. “What’s your-WHOA!” Leon’s eyes went wide as he saw the skiddo. “What’s that pokemon?!”_

_“Leon, now really isn’t the time,” Opal started to say as Ramos laughed._

_“Nonsense! I think we all need a break and what better way than with a few battles, huh?” Ramos got to his feet. “After all, we need to get your numel with some practice before you get challengers!” Ramos offered his hand to Kabu. “Unless you’re worried some Kalosian can usurp the Champion.” Leon snickered as Kabu made a face._

_“I’m coming, if only to see your butt kicked into the next region.” Opal wiped her face, but was silently grateful that it seemed like Kabu’s ‘fire’ seemed to spark back to life._

.

* * *

.

“So the power comes from the stone?” Bea asked slowly as she looked over the stone embedded into the gardening shears.

“That it does kiddo,” Ramos said as his pokemon were returned to him, fully healed after the battle with Kabu, the latter the victor of their battle, but not by much. “Of course the pokemon themselves need the appropriate stone for it to work.”

“Could it work with a Gigamaxed Pokemon?” Bede asked curiously and Ramos made a face.

“Doesn’t that have to need a special pokemon in the first place?” Ramos asked. “Granted I can barely follow the Sycamore’s train of thought on a good day…”

“He’s the professor now, isn’t he?” Kabu asked as he wiped his brow and the grass gym leader nodded. 

“Perhaps Professor Magnolia knows him.” Bede mused before looking at his mentor. “Do you know him Opal?”

“Wikstrom and Ramos tell enough stories about the professor and his sister to know him.” Ramos snickered. 

“Well considering the shenanigans they got into as children, they’d give Leon a run for his money.”

“...you tell?” Allister asked curiously and Ramos dusted off his pants.

“If you don’t mind an old man’s stories, then I suppose I can spare a few minutes. I do have a few stories that I haven’t told you two either,” He winked at the two older adults and Opal rolled her eyes playfully as Kabu beamed.

“Well, don’t waste any more time, let’s hear it!”


	17. Kalosian and Galarian Business Relations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously a chapter from my "Pokemon Drabbles", it's now has been rewritten more, with hints to Rose's past, relationships between Kalos and Galar, and postponing of battles.

...

_He’s a pretty skilled trainer, if Rose was honest with himself. Even when put at a disadvantage like this; steel types against the fire types owned by his business partner, he knew how to hold his own. A small smirk tugged at his lips as the last pokemon for both of them were thrown out. Admittedly it was rather entertaining to see someone that was thought of as a fashion icon across regions to own a pokemon with such a derpy evolution line, but considering who Rose had endorsed and was now sitting on the metaphorical throne of Galar, Rose knew he didn’t have much, if any, of an argument. Still, it wouldn’t be a friendly battle without some banter between friends._

_“Gyarados, huh? Looks like you’re buying lunch again Lysandre,” The red head smirked slightly and shot a look at his friend-boyfriend?-Rose wasn’t good at figuring out that kind of thing-who covered his mouth with a chuckle and looked away before turning to Magnolia and Sonia, the younger girl pulling out her phone in mild confusion to record at the man’s request. Rose turned back to his business partner as the redhead adjusted the ring on his finger._

_“We will see about that mon ami.” His business partner said brightly as the ring and the Gyarados began to emit a glow. Rose couldn’t help but step back in shock as the light surrounded the pokemon, illuminating Lysandre’s Gengar-like grin ominously._

_“W-Wha-”_

_“Tell me, Rose, have you heard about Mega Evolution?”_

.

* * *

.

“Lysandre! My friend! Welcome back to Galar!” Rose said brightly as he shook the man’s hand, trying to avoid having his business partner graze the newly applied gauze on his hand and fingers. Lysandre seemed to be doing the same thing as he shook Rose’s hand carefully. “I hope things have been well; what brings you to Galar?” Lysandre gave a tired smile, as if the man hadn’t slept in several weeks.

“Augustine and I are on ‘mandatory vacation’....and I figured we could come visit Galar and see the Major and Minor League Battles….” Rose mentally cursed, having completely forgotten about that little tidbit; though in his defense, after what he had to deal with, who could blame him? He chuckled nervously, keeping up a pleasant smile.

“Ah, yes, and we’re in for a dozy this year, considering Leon’s been dethroned…” Lysandre’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh?” Rose nodded before spotting the trainer in question out of the corner of his eye.

“Ah! Gloria!” He waved the girl down. “Lysandre, this is the new champion of Galar, Gloria of Postwick!” He said, gesturing to the girl. “Gloria, this is my business partner, and a good friend of mine, Lysandre.” Gloria looked up at Lysandre, who chuckled awkwardly under the girl’s unintentionally serious stare.

“You look like a Perrserker.” She noted. “But red.” Rose’s eyes widened in shock and managed to catch his laugh, covering it with a cough as Lysandre smiled gently.

“Most usually compare me to a Pyroar, so I appreciate the comparison to a different pokemon.” Lysandre chuckled. “And congratulations on winning and becoming champion. Actually,” He turned back to Rose. “Kalos has a new Champion as well, though convincing his sister to not tag along with Augustine and I was something else entirely…” Gloria raised an eyebrow. “Ah, forgive me, let me intro…” Lysandre trailed off as he looked around. “Augustine?”

“Mon Grande! Look at this little fella!” Lysandre’s face was priceless as a man in a lab coat walked over to them, carrying a very excited yamper, who clearly had decided that the professor was his now. “He leapt into my arms!” 

“Gloria, Professor Sycamore of Kalos. Sycamore, Gloria.” Rose said simply, not even bothering to hide his smile at his friend and boyfriend. “And at least it wasn’t a Wooloo...they’re a lot heavier than they look…”

“Oh! Professor Magnolia mentioned you before!” Gloria said. “I was looking through one of her books on Dynamaxing and she said you helped with notes or something,” Sycamore nodded.

“Oui, I did spend a summer helping her observe the changes with dynamaxing…” He chuckled softly at the memory. “It certainly is something vastly different from Mega Evolution, that’s for sure…” Gloria raised an eyebrow.

“Mega...Evolution?” She echoed before getting excited. “Is that like Dynamaxing? Or Gigamaxing? Whatever it is, I wanna see it!” Sycamore chuckled and looked at Lysandre, who looked hesitant.

“I am feeling up for it Mon Grande if you don’t want to,” Lysandre opened his mouth before seeing the fact Gloria was basically vibrating from excitement and laughed, shaking his head.

“It is up to you mon ami,” Gloria punched the air excitedly.

“Sweet! I’ll go change into my gym uniform!” She ran back into the gym and both Kalosians laughed.

“Children are such characters, no?” Rose smiled softly, thinking back to the last few days.

“Yeah…they certainly are…”

.

* * *

.

_He can hear them, albeit it’s hollow and echoing inside the legendary best, suspended and floating like a marionette on a stage. Granted, given how he got into this predicament in the first place, it was fitting that he was as useless as a puppet._

_Legendary above, how the hell did he not see Oleana doing this behind his back?!_

_‘You’re too kind for this kind of work, my child,' He faintly recalled the words his nan always told him when she saw him work, the only one of his family outside his brother Peony, to continue talking to him after the ‘incident’ with the former champion and his father. “It will be your downfall if you go into business. Why don’t you do Daycare Work instead? Pokemon and people love you,’_

_‘They pity me.’ Rose would always retort back, though thinking about it was difficult due to the numbing sensation on the pinchers piercing his body was certainly distracting, not helped by the trainer’s use of tackle, obviously trying to not do that much damage and hurt Rose himself. He tried remembering what her name was-Gloria-was it? He was pretty bad with names all things considered, and this predicament certainly wasn’t helping. A faint memory was starting to rise but he suddenly felt a lurching sensation, the beast planning on making a counter attack, and the pincers tightened their grip on him, to pull what little energy it could from him to prolong it’s defeat._

_A brief thought about his obituary crossed his mind as blackness started to over take his vision._

_‘At least Magnolia knows how to help Raihan run the league’ was his last coherent thought before the darkness took over._

.

* * *

.

“Augustine is holding his own pretty well…” Rose noted bemusedly as they watched the battle.

“He is…” Lysandre smiled softly before sighing, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I must apologize Rose, I need to be frank with you,” Rose looked at Lysandre in mild confusion. “Our vacation is not because of over work, but…” He trailed off before sighing sadly. “I almost blew up the Kalos region.” Rose’s eyes widened. “I-I mean I technically wasn’t in control of my body, but I allowed it to happen and then as soon as I wanted to-” 

“Dude same.” Lysandre stopped mid sentence and stared at Rose as he shrugged apathetically. “It’s been a weird week.” Lysandre was silent for a moment before he lost it, hunched over as he laughed and Rose joined him in some well deserved-if not self deprecating-laughter.

“WHOAAA!!!” Their attention was brought back to the battle as Gloria witnessed the mega evolution of Sycamore’s Charizard, the now black dragon like creature howling with pride as it got ready to lunge at her pokemon. “He looks so different! Man, that’s so cool!”

“And the typing has changed as well, madame,” Sycamore explained. “I hope you are prepared.” Gloria beamed, basically vibrating with excitement. 

“You bet!” Rose laughed as he shook his head.

“We’ll be here a while…Gloria doesn’t have a water type on her team.” Lysandre gave Rose a look.

“He is partial Dragon typing now, mon ami and she does look like she has at least 2 fairy types on her team.” Rose chuckled as he nodded.

“Considering the Legendary that chose her...yeah...I guess you’re right.” The red head stared at his friend.

“ _What_?” 

“Zacian, of the region’s legendaries, Lysandre you know-Lysandre!” Rose exclaimed as Lysandre leaned into his hands and muttered out a series of curses in Kalosian. “Are you ok?”

“Mon Grande!” Sycamore asked slowly, as he and Gloria noticed the shenanigans on the benches. “Is everything alright?”

“What is he saying?” Gloria asked slowly, her Cinderace looking a little indignant at the battle being postponed. Sycamore coughed nervously, clearly understanding the mumbled swears and his Charizard stole a glance at Gloria’s Cinderace and seemed to pantomime something that made the starter start to snicker, confusing Gloria further.

“I just mentioned that Zacian had chosen you,” Rose explained and Sycamore made a small ‘oh’ sound. “Augustine, what’s going on?”

“Ah, well, it involves why we’re here...I do hope you don’t mind a small delay with finishing our battle,”

“Nah I’m fine,” Gloria said. “I wanna know what’s going on!” Sycamore smiled as Lysandre lifted his head, studying the girl.

“When Lysandre was under the control of his assistant’s machine,” Sycamore started to explain. “He was ordered to prevent anyone from freeing the two legendaries and I took the blow meant for Serena and given my health to begin with…” Rose and Gloria exchanged looks as Sycamore trailed off before chuckling nervously. “But what matters is that the legendaries were freed and Team Flare was stopped before the Ultimate Weapon was fired again.”

“Ultimate...Weapon?” Gloria asked slowly. “What’s that?”

“It was a weapon used 3000 years ago during one of the great wars,” Lysandre said tiredly. “A horrible weapon that caused too much destruction for what it’s creator wants…” Lysandre looked at Rose. “Isn’t the brother of the Minor League Chairman related to the Galarian Royals at the time?” Gloria groaned louder than intended. “You’ve met him as well?”

“I had to kick his butt to get him to leave Sonia alone.” She stuck her tongue out. “Claiming she was lying about the book she published and ruining Galar’s honor or whatever…”

“Sounds like him.” Sycamore sighed before chuckling. “Remember when you visited me when I was studying with Professor Magnolia?” Lysandre smiled softly. “You certainly left an impression on him,” Gloria bounced with slight excitement.

“You gotta tell me about that!” Lysandre sighed softly but he was smiling.

“Oh yes, that is certainly a story you need to share…” Rose chuckled softly and soon Lysandre was explaining how he “accidently” taught the man a lesson when the brother of the Minor League Chairman had harassed Sycamore.


	18. Bea Drabble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble focused on Bea and her relationship with her parents, Rose, and how the other leaders help in their own ways

...

Bea was stoic, face emotionless to the untrained eye, but to the chairman, it was clear she was irritated and conflicted. Not that she would willingly admit that, thanks to the training of her parents, who weren’t exactly subtle in what they constituted as strength. Rose raised an eyebrow as he exited out of the rare candy themed game he was idly playing, as all of his attention was going to be focused on getting an actual answer from the girl.

“I heard that Ramos visited Opal the other day.” Bea nodded simply. “Very good, it’s always nice to see visits from our neighbors. Especially when Gordie’s cousin comes and visits,” Rose chuckled. “Not even Oleana can deny that the man knows his way around food. Wikstrom’s alright, but there’s certainly something off with him…I suppose that’s just something with Steel Type Users.” Bea looked at him, the smallest hint of an eyebrow raise. “I’m including myself in that generalization.”

“Mr. Peony isn’t weird.”

“My brother decided to up and leave his gym and go explore the tundra without even giving his boss a heads up.” Rose argued. “Randolf gave Oleana a run for her money in the hair raising in anger when he found that out.” 

“Fair.” Bea said shortly. After a moment, Rose continued the topic.

“They don’t have a ghost gym if I remember correctly, Kalos I mean...they do have a fighting gym though,” Rose continued. “Let’s see if I can remember her name...Kori? Corin? Ah, Korrina! That’s her name! She runs the fighting type gym,” Rose saw Bea’s expression get to one of momentary excitement at the idea of a challenge or potential rival.

“What martial art does she practice?” Bea asked and Rose made a face as he thought about that.

“Uh...I don’t think Mega Evolution counts as a martial art yet…” Rose admitted. “She roller skates and I think the former champion mentioned she’s a pretty popular PR video star...Oh, she can break rocks with her axe kick move…” Rose trailed off as he saw Bea’s unimpressed reaction. “To each their own, Bea.”

“It’s a weak mindset to spread out so thin.” Rose resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that it was a family mantra.

“Spread out thin, wanting to experience all things, again, to each their own. A Jack of all trades may be a master of none but they are still more prepared than a master of one. Er, if that’s how the saying goes…eloquence wasn’t a big priority in the family.” Rose forced out a chuckle, though noted Bea’s reaction. “But I will grant you that your technique would give you an edge in a straight up battle.” There was the hint of a scoff and Rose realized what was irritating her. “I do hope there’s not any snarky comments from parents on how other people raise their children cause Oleana still has that file folder of when the grown adults got absolutely creamed by a certain fashion disaster when he first became champion.”

“Nessa invited me to join her at a fashion show.” Bea said quietly, as if afraid her voice would be shaky if she was louder. “She posted about it-she didn’t mention me being a part of it at all…”

“But your parents commented on it?” Bea nodded and Rose placed a hand on his temple and held out his other hand. “Let’s see, I see a comment involving the phrase ‘if you worked as hard standing all day as you did in battle, you’d actually be higher in the circuit’; I see it currently flagged and under review, and at least six comments with questionable spelling telling the poster to pound sand.” Bea stared at the chairman as he continued. “Wait, wait, I see! I see! I see your parents on the phone getting their ears chewed off by Opal, not daring to hang up on the old lady like they did last time she called them to chew ‘em out over sticking their foots in their mouths.”

“She’s not that old.”

“And that’s why she likes you and barely tolerates me.” Rose pointed out as he saw the slight glimmer of a smile on Bea’s face. “Look, obviously I’m not one to give advice on how to deal with family, but I’ll at least give you my opinion on the whole thing; there’s no harm in going and having a free day or cheat day or whatever you want to call it. You’ve still got a lot of years ahead of you on the circuit so one day’s not going to ruin a lifetime of training. Besides, even with photo evidence, who’d believe that the young lady seen with Nessa was you? You remember when Leon realized Raihan was in a movie?” Bea caught her snort as she nodded. “I swear, if I didn’t know Leon beforehand, I would’ve thought he was joking.” He smiled gently. “But I’ll leave the choice to yours, since it is yours; just remember that no matter the choice, you’ll have plenty of people in your corner.” He offered a smile. Bea allowed herself a small smile and nodded.

“Thank you Chairman,” She said quietly. “I really do appreciate the support.”


	19. The Chairman's Endorement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble set in the past, where we see how Raihan and Leon got their endorsements.

...

“Well you’re certainly too small to be a grimmsnarl” Opal noted as the boy pulled the strings in his hoodie taught, closing it shut as if that would help hide him from the Fairy-Type Leader. Opal crossed her arms and sighed. “Raihan.” A tiny grunt. “Would you like to at least come with me to the gym? It’s going to rain in a little bit and I’d hate for you to get sick. I’m sure I have some sweets to go with tea.” There were a few moments of silence before the boy carefully peeked open his hoodie.

“You’re not gonna tell anybody where I’m at?”

“I’ll direct them towards wherever Leon got himself lost at, how about that?” A few more moments but eventually Raihan peeled himself out of his hiding spot and came over to Opal, taking her offered hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” Well that was rather firm, which meant that the former champion and the current dragon and the steel gym leaders had a hand in this. Unsurprising, given _that_ family dynamic, but still.

“Very valid Raihan.” She said before chuckling. “Perhaps you can help me with a gift I’m planning on.”

“A gift?”

“Oh yes, it’s for an old friend; I want to send him a little something while the new members of the Elite Four are chosen in his home region. Just to show I’m thinking of him.” She chuckled as Raihan scrunched up his face in confusion.

“Elite...Four?” Opal chuckled gently, knowing that the last time there was an Elite Four in Galar, _she_ was barely Raihan’s age.

“It’s a position that other regions have in their leagues.” Opal explained as they got to the gym and made their way to Opal’s parlour area where she often took her tea. “You see other regions have it arranged where their challengers can come at any time to try and win the badges.”

“What?! No way!”

“Yes way! And after getting your eight badges they take on four of the strongest trainers in the region and then the champion.” Raihan’s eyes were wide as his mind was metaphorically blown. 

“And they can do it any time they want?!” Opal nodded. “Whoaaa…that’s so cool…” He frowned. “Do they need endorsements though?”

“Well no, they do need a starter pokemon though, so they don’t accidentally get jumped in the grass. Usually they have to get the professor and their parent's permission but I suppose it depends on how they get their starter." Raihan deflated.

"Oh,"

"Were you planning on leaving Galar?" Raihan shrugged as Opal turned to start the tea. "You know there was a trainer who managed to impress a gym leader who convinced his parents to let him take the challenge."

"Yeah but nobody’s stupid enough to go against my dad or my uncles," Raihan mumbled and Opal realized what the problem was.

"They want you to skip the challenge and focus on training to take over one of the gyms?" She asked as she came over with the tea and sweets, Raihan nodding glumly. "And I suppose that's as far as they got, now arguing about which gym?" Another nod and Opal made a tch sound; she wasn't a vindictive woman, but she made a mental note to "send a message" to the two leaders that involved some chaotically minded pokemon. "I do suppose that is a problem...have you talked to the professor?" Raihan gave Opal a deadpan look.

"She's already endorsing Nessa and Sonia, and you can't have more than two." Opal nodded.

"Right, right. That does pose a problem…" She tapped her chin gently as Raihan took a poffin and chewed it absently. "And Peony is endorsing two already...has Leon been endorsed yet?"

"No, he's been busy helping his mom with his baby brother so he hasn't been to those practice matches," Opal nodded as a smile crept onto her face. 

"If you'd like Raihan, I do have someone who hasn't endorsed anyone yet, and who would love a chance to rub it into your folks' face…" Raihan’s eyes widened as he tried to maintain his excitement.

“Really?!”

“Of course kiddo, why would I lie about that?” Opal teased before tapping her chin. “But we can’t let your folks know just yet, ok? I’d hate for the surprise to be ruined after all.” She smiled mischievously. “I’ll arrange to get my person to arrive and I’ll send you a message to bring you and Leon to meet him, alright?” Raihan nodded before frowning.

“But won’t my dad get suspicious?” 

“I’ll just make up some story about why I need you and Leon to help me out, after all, you boys are quite talented at dealing with pokemon.” Opal explained simply. “Besides, your father has made the mistake more than once of asking for my assistance without making clear what the deal was so he most certainly owes me a favor without questions.” Raihan snickered slightly and Opal offered a gentle smile.

“Who is it?” Raihan asked curiously after a few minutes.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to risk you spoiling the surprise on accident but…” Opal trailed off teasingly, relishing in Raihan's reaction. “Do you know the man who organizes the League here? The Chairman?”

“Chairman Rose?!” Raihan nearly toppled out of his seat. “What?! No way!! There’s no way he’d endorse me and Leon!”

“Says who?” Opal argued simply. “You boys are pretty talented and I’m fairly certain other gym leaders have mentioned you when you’ve helped with training.”

“My dad would never let it happen.”

“But Rose is the Chairman, he is the one who runs the League so he’s basically your dad’s boss.” Raihan made a face.

“I guess that makes sense...but won’t there be a lot of backlash or something?” Opal shrugged.

“Maybe there will be, maybe people will see it as something exciting instead. It has been quite some time since anyone in your family has taken on the League.” Opal paused and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Well, it appears we’ll be seeing the chairman earlier than I thought.” Opal stood up from the table and started walking towards the exit. Raihan scrambled out of his chair and followed the woman.

“Whadda mean?” Raihan asked as he caught up to her. 

“You see Raihan, there are certain perks when you’ve lived here as long as I had. The Fairy Types like me quite a bit, so when they find someone they don’t trust, they have their own way of letting me know so I can handle it.”

“Oh! Hi Miss Opal!” Leon said as he hung upside down from the makeshift trap the more crafty of the Fairy Type Pokemon had made. “Hi Raihan!”

“Leon? How…” Raihan said slowly before seeing a familiar pair of faces in a net on the floor under Leon. “Mr. Chairman! What…”

“Charmander saw a cool pokemon and ran after it!” Leon explained. “And at the same time the chairman spotted me and he offered to help me catch the pokemon!”

“And Oleana wanted it to be done quickly…” Rose said, chuckling nervously. “And in the chaos I may have forgotten to make sure I didn’t have any steel types on me.” Raihan made a face; he always found the rules in relation to the area of the Fairy Type Gym weird sounding, but he guessed that given the situation he was witnessing, the rules made _some_ sense now.

“I did not see the point of wasting time.” Oleana argued simply, glaring at the closest pokemon, which was Leon’s starter, who was sheepishly hiding behind the tree it’s trainer was hanging from. Opal chuckled.

“Well, the fairy types are rather particular about their rules, but I’d be rather grateful they’re in a playful mood today.” She said before letting out a whistle and after some finagling, got Leon down from the tree and freed the adults from the nets.

“Thanks Miss Opal... “ Leon mumbled and Opal decided to let the boy slide as he was tackled by his charmander, who clearly was taking the blame for the accident. “It’s ok buddy! Don’t worry! It’s fine!”

“What was the pokemon?” Raihan asked slowly, trying his best to hide his jealously that his friend’s parents allowed him to explore and try and get a team before the League Championship.

“It was like a tiny little orange thing!” Leon said excitedly before gasping. “Hey! There it is!” He pointed and Raihan looked at his feet, startled slightly by the trapinch rubbing against his leg. Leon laughed. “Looks like it likes you Raihan!” 

“Oh, it’s a trapinch…” Rose said as he pulled out his dex, double checking his notes. “It’s the first evolution of Flygon, and a ground type,” Raihan’s eyes widened in excitement as Opal chuckled and pulled out a fresh pokeball, handing it to the young boy. Raihan’s eyes were wide as he took the pokeball and got to his knees, offering the pokeball to the pokemon who headbutted it with no hesitation.

“Awesome! You got a pokemon!” Leon exclaimed, jumping up and down after the three clicks of the pokeball and Raihan allowed his new partner to exit, pokemon hopping into his arms.

“Congratulations you two, it’ll be fun to see you both on the circuit for the League Challenge.” Rose said brightly before noticing Leon’s face falling and Raihan looking sheepish. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, I haven’t been able to go to any of the practice matches to get a endorsement…” Leon explained. “They all happen when my dad’s at work and my mum needs help with Hop…”

“And my family doesn’t want me to do the League…” Raihan said.

“ _But_ ,” Opal interjected. “I am aware that you have yet to pick an endorsement, Chairman, and I was going to suggest that perhaps you could endorse the two,” Opal saw the eyebrow raise from the chairman as Oleana didn’t look quite as impressed with the idea.

“There is a process-”

“I like the way you think Opal,” Rose said with a smirk as he adjusted his jacket. “Granted, I am required to see at least one of you battle, but if a certain gym leader would be willing to referee a small match right this second,” Leon and Raihan’s eyes went wide in excitement as Oleana rubbed the bridge of her nose. “What is it Oleana?”

“Chairman, you are a very busy man.”

“And I still need to make my endorsements. And they need to be endorsed to take on the League. It’s two Pidgeys with an earthquake.” Rose paused as he thought about that. “Is that the expression?” Oleana groaned loudly and Opal resisted the urge to laugh.

“Well, let’s not waste anymore time and let’s get this battle going, shall we?” Leon and Raihan nodded and faced each other, ready to have their first battle.


	20. First Meeting and (Technically) A First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble where Opal and Wikstrom meet for the first time and how in the future Bede accidentally sets himself up on a date.

...

“What in the world…”

“Ma! Wile!” Opal stepped back slowly as the Fairy pokemon growled, its voice strained as it was clear it had been fiercely protecting the armored individual slumped on the ground. Opal saw that the area was destroyed, heavy evidence of a chaotic battle with a knocked out grimmsnarl a few feet away. "Mawile!"

"I am the gym leader here," She offered gently. "I heard some ruckus and it's my duty to at least investigate," The pokemon studied the dark haired woman before stealing a glance at her trainer. "I can help him, but you've got to let me come closer," The Mawile looked hesitant before nodding.

"Mawile! Ma! Mawile!" Opal smiled and nodded.

"Of course, of course, I will be careful," She slowly walked over to the trainer and raised an eyebrow at the choice in plate armor. She got to her knees and carefully rolled the man over, getting a weak groan from the man. Opal frowned as she realized that this wasn’t going to be as simple as she originally thought. “Blast it-”

“Hey, Opal-”

“MAWILE!” Opal managed to duck in time to avoid the very angry pokemon lunge for her fellow gym leader, who took it with all the grace and skill one has when they get tackled by a two foot fairy/steel type out of the blue.

“What the-Opal!” Opal sighed as she called out her own Mawile, who wasted no time in trying to restrain the armored man’s Mawile. While the two pokemon wrestled and a conversation was had, the Fighting-Type Gym Leader stared at Opal. “What the hell-Oh shit!” He exclaimed as he realized that Opal was not by herself. “Here, let me help lift him and we’ll get him to the gym!” He rushed over.

“Be careful, Mustard,” She said sternly as the man came over. 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry!” With a grunt, Mustard managed to pick the man up, despite asking Opal for help. Opal turned back to her pokemon and saw her Mawile carrying the other pokemon, knocked out.

“I suppose it pushed itself too hard…” She said gently. “Can you carry it to the center?”

“Mawile!” Opal smiled gently as she made sure to be there in case her pokemon needed help as they made it to the gym.

.

* * *

.

“Arceus above, who the hell is this guy?” Mustard asked as he and Opal removed the man’s gauntlets and most of his armor, seeing ancient tattoos on his arms.

“Ngh…”

“Mustard! You’re waking him up!” Opal shoved her friend as the brunet weakly groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Opal tensed, ready in case this was going to go south, as the man stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly before, to both Mustard and Opal’s surprise, he just let out a tired chuckle.

“Of course…” He muttered more to himself as the two twenty-somethings exchanged looks. He winced as he raised his arm before frowning. “How…” He turned his head and saw Opal and Mustard. There was a long awkward silence between the three before the man turned to face the ceiling and let out a few curses in a language Opal recognized.

“You’re from Kalos.” She said and Mustard looked at her in confusion.

“How do you know that?” Opal glared at her friend.

“You do know which region has the most fairy types behind Galar, right?” Mustard’s reaction said it all and Opal sighed before turning back to the man. “Am I correct?” The brunet turned back to the two.

“Yes, I am from Kalos. My name is Wikstrom. I suppose you two were able to handle the large pokemon?” Opal raised an eyebrow before she realized what happened.

“Another Dynamax must’ve happened…” Mustard looked at her.

“Yeah, that’s why I was coming over; I saw the clouds and wanted to make sure that everything was fine…” Mustard explained. “But…”

“You battled a Dynamax Pokemon on your own?” Opal asked, turning to Wikstrom who made a face.

“I only recall calling forth my pokemon twice before I took the blow…” Wikstrom attempted to look around. “Where…?”

“They are being healed right now. They all took plenty of hits…” The man smiled and nodded as he leaned back as Mustard’s eyes went wide.

“You took on a Dynamax pokemon...on your own….I don’t know whether I should be impressed or horrified.” Wikstrom made the attempt to shrug, but winced.

“Clearly I succeed in that without consequences." Was the sarcastic retort as the man laid back. Opal couldn't help but chuckle as Mustard made a face. “I do not suppose that there is a time frame for how long I should remain bedridden?”

“Well, considering we spent the past 15 minutes getting the armor off of you, it’ll probably be a while before we know for sure.” Wikstrom rolled his eyes as Opal looked at Mustard.

“Why don’t you go check on his pokemon, and I can handle this.” Mustard looked momentarily hesitant before sighing.

“Alright.” Mustard got up and once he was out of earshot, Wikstrom looked at Opal.

“Is it bold of me to assume that he fancies you?” Opal snorted.

“Hardly. I think the only one who doesn’t know of his crush on me is him. Does make the leader meetings entertaining though.” Wikstrom chuckled, wincing slightly. “He has his charms, but I believe there’s someone else destined for him,”

“Airheadedness is an acquired taste.” Wikstrom noted with a soft sigh and Opal smiled as she opened the first aid kit.

“Sounds like you have experience with it.” She said.

“It’s been a few years.”

“Given the tattoos, I’ll say more than a couple.” She remarked. “The Kingdom of Azoth hasn’t existed for a few thousand years and given the going-ons over in Kalos, not even an idiot would be caught dead with even the hint of the old kingdom.” Wikstrom looked away as Opal tended to what injuries she could. “So the old fairy tales are true then.”

“You are rather clever.”

“Well, they don’t call me ‘The Wizard’ for nothing.” Wikstrom hummed bemusedly. “I can only assume from the armor, you were the prince’s knight, chosen to sacrifice his humanity and love to guard the region from the Mad King?” Wikstrom turned slightly and faced Opal, confusion obvious.

“That’s...a lot more theatrical than what actually happened…” Opal shrugged.

“Well that’s what happened in _Darkest Memories_ , and we managed to get a five star review from that prick of a critic.” Wikstrom’s face didn’t change in the slightest and Opal frowned. “You’ve never seen it?”

“In my defense, I’ve been….busy to avoid losing my head.” Opal made a face.

“Once we can get you upright, you’re going to watch it. And I’m going to make Mustard watch it too.” She mumbled something about being sick of his excuses and Wikstrom decided to not make a comment on that.

“I do not wish to impede for too long…”

“Nonsense!” Opal said simply. “Kalos is going to be in chaos for at least a little bit, so something normal would do you some good.” Wikstrom let out a tired chuckle.

“I do not have an argument for that.” Opal smirked, proud of herself as she finished with the kit and Mustard returned, holding Wikstrom’s pokeballs.

.

* * *

.

_Several Years Later_

“Wow...”

“That is what I say every time.” Wikstrom chuckled as he sat on the couch with Bede and Opal, watching a version of the tale of the Darkest Day. “I will grant that at least the man who’s playing the role based off of me is doing well…and Raihan isn’t too bad as the captain of the guard…a little too excited but that is him…” Opal chuckled bemusedly as Bede raised an eyebrow.

“Who is playing you anyways?” Bede asked, frowning. “He looks familiar…” Opal and Wikstrom exchanged looks, not even remotely hiding their smiles.

“I believe his name is Piers?” Bede’s eyes went wide.

“ _What?!_ ” 

“I mean he’s using his stage name for the credits,” Opal explained. “But it is him. Movie magic does wonders after all.” Opal chuckled. “I wonder if he’s told his sister yet…” 

“I will definitely tell her next meeting,” Bede said, staring at the screen as he continued to wrap his mind about this realization of why the actor was so familiar.

**.**

_Bede: Marine! Do you know?_

_Spikemuth_Sweets: Know what?_

_Bede: [Attachment.jpeg] Look familiar?_

_Spikemuth_Sweets: ….that’s from that new version of that theater play, right?_

_Bede: Yes, but do you recognize whose in the scene?_

_Spikemuth_Sweet: I mean the guy on the left looks familiar, but in all fairness I’ve only seen the trailer in passing at other gyms. Spikemuth isn’t exactly known for being up-to-date._

_Bede: Right…..but that’s your brother._

_Spikemuth_Sweet: Seriously? You’ve met my brother. He's neither one of those guys._

_Bede: You want to bet? If you’re free this weekend, come to Ballonlea and I’ll prove it to you._

_Spikemuth_Sweet: Uh, okay? I’ll be there Saturday morning then…_

_Bede: Good._

**.**

Marnie raised an eyebrow as she read the message. She took a moment before looking at the chat message again, to make sure what she saw was real.

“Mor?” She looked at her Morpeko, looking at her curiously as it nibbled on the seed in its paws. Marnie looked at her pokemon with obvious confusion.

“I think I just got asked out on a date, Morpeko.”


	21. Brotherly Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose goes to meet Peony to have a chat after the dealings with Eternatus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU where Oleana was the bad guy, and Rose got the short straw in the "poke-fusion" department. The Crown Tundra stuff is more or else the same, but nothing major plot wise.

...

“Uncle Rose!” 

“Hi Nia,” Rose said tiredly. “Say, is your dad back from his latest expedition thing?”

“Yeah, he ran out of those stupid legends and he’s moping in the living room,” She explained dramatically and Rose just nodded, ignoring the aches protesting that. She stepped back to let her uncle into the house. “Can you tell him I’m going to go exploring?”

“So long as you don’t get lost like Leon.” Rose teased and Nia made a face.

“He’s the winningest champ though!” She said before exiting out the door and Rose let out a bemused sigh before heading towards the living room and saw his baby brother with his head in a thick book and some rock group playing on his rotom phone. Rose waited a few moments and when he still wasn’t acknowledged, Rose rolled his eyes and spoke.

“You know there’s an updated version of that.” 

“What..?” Peony looked up in confusion before his eyes widened and he toppled back, falling off his chair with a thud. “What?! What the heck are you doing here?! How’d you get in?!”

“Hello to you too.” Rose said as he moved to a nearby chair, trying to hide his wince. “Nia let me in, and she’s going to go explore the Wild Area, and I wanted to visit my baby brother, is that such a crime?” Peony furrowed his brows.

“It’s certainly ultra mega suspicious.” Rose raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Call the International Police. Look, Gloria suggested that we talk, at least once, and she’s the champion now so it’s not like I’ll hear the end of it.” Peony blinked in surprise.

“Leon lost?” 

“You’ve been home for at least two weeks.” Peony opened his mouth. “Gloria told me about the ‘adven-tours’.” Peony made a face and Rose shrugged. “Given that you don’t know about Leon, I suppose you don’t know what also happened.”

“I mean I heard that there was a big Dynamax Raid…” 

“That’s certainly one way of putting it.” Rose said slowly before deciding to rip the bandaid off. “Eternatus was summoned and the Darkest Day almost happened again.” Peony’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

“Eternatus is real?! How did you find that out?!” Rose bit back the urge to snap at his brother’s priorities. With a sigh, Rose rolled up his sleeves, revealing the perfectly lined scars from where the beast embedded its claws. Peony’s eyes widened. “How...”

“It possessed me and tried to use me as a battery as it tried to take over the region.” Peony gulped, paling. “Gloria, Bede, Hop, and Marnie were able to stop it, but not without...consequences.” Rose focused on the book to not look at the look of horror that reminded him of his rescuer as the pokemon used him to further its goal. "The region will bounce back-"

"A-are you ok though?" Rose froze as he faced his brother.

"Pardon?" Peony stared at his brother.

"I asked if you're ok…" He said slowly. "I mean those injuries aren't just something to scoff at…" 

"Ah, well, I'm just now able to walk without too much assistance." Rose remarked, tempering that foolish hope that his brother actually cared about him. "And the nightmares aren't...too frequent." Peony raised an eyebrow and for a brief second, Rose could've sworn his baby brother's eyes flashed a silver color.

"You're lying, they haven't gone away at all..." Rose made a face as Peony attempted to hide his confusion.

"I'm going to pretend I just didn't hear that." Rose muttered before looking at his brother. "The important part is that the region is safe-"

"Seriously? You could've died by the looks of it!" Peony snapped, gesturing to the injuries. "You are never reckless, how in the ultra mega ninny did you get  _ possessed _ ?!" Rose stared at him, partly confused by his brother's insistence at that phrase and partially confused by why his brother was so concerned about him. 

Sure they spoke when it involved Peonia and when they had to be civil in public, but that was it, strictly professional.

"I took a blow meant for Gloria when Eternatus was summoned by Oleana." Rose said. "Oleana was working behind my back to cause the Darkest Day." Rose waited for the inevitable question on why Oleana did that, as if he had even the slightest idea.

"Huh...I always thought that she had the hots for you…" Well, that was certainly not expected. 

"You...did?"

"Shoot yeah! She always followed you around and seemed to be looking at you every time I saw you two in public."

"She was the vice president of my company." 

"She spent a lot of time around you for just being her boss. You're not exactly a great conversationalist." Rose gave his brother a look. 

"Says who? I make my living talking to people, Peony."

"You tell them what they want to hear." Rose made a face.

"You've missed the multiple panels that I've had with the gym leaders."

"Haven't had a reason to watch." Peony said simply. "But you're walking around the fact you almost died!"

"Why do you care?" Rose asked. 

"You're my brother! I'm supposed to care at least a little bit that you got hurt!" Rose stared at Peony, eyebrow raised.

"Uh huh…" Peony frowned.

"I'm serious!!"

"You don't want anything to do with me!" Rose snapped. "You gave up being a champion because I became Chairman! I didn't even ask you to rig a match or something stupid like that! You just up and left because of me!"

"I mean I had other reasons…." Peony mumbled and Rose crossed his arms. 

"Certainly could have fooled me." Rose glanced at the derpy Galarian Meowth clock Peony had gotten on a dare and mentally sighed; he promised Gloria twenty minutes and he still had fifteen to go. 

Fan-freaking-tastic.

"You spend years being compared to being the Golden Boy of Galar, and then you tell me about it." Rose looked at his brother, momentarily surprised.

"Is that what he called me? I would've assumed Disappointment or Failure would've been my name, considering I "dishonored" the family name multiple times over." Peony looked utterly confused, mirroring Rose's confusion. "You know he disowned me, right? Right after I lost the Challenge?" Rose stared at his brother; out of all the dirty laundry the family had, why would  _ that _ be the one he'd forget? "He tried forcing me to forfeit my challenge before I faced-"

"I know what happened!" Peony interjected. "I don't need a history lesson. I just figured you guys patched things up…everybody spoke highly of you so I just assumed it was a blip, even with business stuff over in Kalos." Peony shrugged. "I mean he wasn't that cross when I ran away and became a trainer...I did get chosen for the Steel Gym after all…" Rose resisted the urge to roll his eyes; Peony’s foolhardy persistence to see the good in people was going to bite him in the ass one of these days.

"Did he ever talk about me?" Rose asked calmly.

"He'd get wistful...I mean he always made it sound like you died on your challenge which was really weird since obviously you didn't...Mum always said it was just him facing the consequences of his actions and I shouldn't bother asking him." Well, that certainly sounded like their mother; frankly it was probably a miracle that the former champion didn't end up becoming Yamper Chow when the revelations of what the Champion had done during the Challenge came to light. Of course it had been too late, the damage was done and Rose was essentially on his own, all but exiled from his home region. Probably explained a few things about himself if he was being honest, but now wasn't the time to self diagnose, Rose noted. 

"Well, there's your answer." Rose said simply. "Now I get that being compared to constantly isn't fair, but it's not exactly like I can wave a wand and fix it. If it was that easy, Randy wouldn't be needing a leash for every Minor League Leader." Rose shrugged, noting that he still had a few more minutes left before it was over. Peony stared at him before another flash of silver colored his eyes.

"They're at the door…" Peony muttered before looking absolutely confused. 

"Who?" Rose asked slowly before making a face. "What pokemon did you piss off this time?"

"What, no! That was one time, sheesh! Are you never going to live that incident with the Kirlas down?" Rose pretended to think.

"Considering I  _ told _ you beforehand not to bother them? No." Peony made a face. 

"You suck."

"Tis the price I pay for being right." There was a knock at the door and Rose raised an eyebrow. "Um…"

"Door's open!" Rose gave his brother a look as the door opened and Gloria stepped in. "Oh! Hey chief! What brings ya here?"

"I didn't actually think you do it," She admitted sheepishly, looking at Rose. "I'd rather not have caused a murder, even accidentally…"

"Gloria," Rose pointed out deadpan. "I can barely walk a mile, let alone attack anyone." He gestured to Peony. "And he's still in decent physical shape."

"Well yeah," Gloria said. "But Calyrex said that he wasn't sure that if there would be any negative lingering effects from being his host that many times," Rose stared at Gloria before turning to his confused baby brother.

"I didn't piss off any pokemon, huh?" Peony made a face before sticking out his tongue. 

"S-Shut up!!"


	22. Bede's Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rewrite of the "Knightly Joust" chapter, this time exploring some of the gym leaders' pasts, and the return of a familiar evil team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important things to Note with this chapter:  
> -There is Implied Experimentation of Children, but nothing shown  
> -AU that I've been using for the past few chapters (Good Dad Rose, Oleana is the baddy, etc)  
> -The Eternatus chapter is coming so you'll get the full story of what went down ;)  
> -Delice is what I'm going to call the Psychic Gym Leader that was before Avery, Mauis and Lima are Bea's Parents/Stow-on-Side's Leaders

...

"You know you'll have to get your shots caught up to date before the next challenge." Bede choked on his tea as Opal slathered on jam on her biscuit during their morning breakfast. "Got to keep up to date with the League doctors and all that. At least Gilbert will be pleased he's not seeing me again, though I doubt that'll fix his breath any." She mused before noticing Bede looking paler than normal. "Child?"

"I'm fine." He said far too quickly as he set his cup down and Opal couldn't help but internally chuckle; who would've thought that this proud young man was scared of the doctors?

"You know you would've had to do it if you had become champion too," She teased lightly before frowning as she saw Bede trembling, clutching his tea cup. "Child?" She started to say before seeing some of the tea equipment starting to float. Confusion flashed across her features before carefully coming over to the boy. "Bede," She gently took his hand, her heart breaking at the momentary wince from the boy. "It's alright, I'm right here, no one is going to hurt you, I promise." It took some time, but eventually the tea platter carefully settled back onto the table and Bede’s breathing was back to a steady normal. Opal held his hand for a moment before tapping it and turning to face the clock. "It's still early enough, I can call Gloria, Allister and Wikstrom and we can reschedule-"

"...'m fine." Bede said uncharacteristically quiet before standing up. "I'll clear the dishes." Before Opal could argue, Bede collected the dishes and went to the kitchen. She let out a soft sigh; apparently there were some secrets she still wasn't privy to from her protégé. She debated on pulling out her phone and demanding some answers from a certain chairman, but she knew that wasn't possible right now.

"Maybe Wikstrom can get some answers out of him…" Opal muttered. "He's probably seen everything at this point…"

.

* * *

.

_“I’m going to give them the all clear, but they certainly need more nourishment in their diets. But I’m sure you’ll take care of that,” The doctor said simply, winking at the man in the suit who rolled his eyes, his thoughts clearly betraying that he was not impressed with the doctor’s remarks. The doctor’s thoughts however were focused on his and the other one’s mental health, and the doctor led the suited man and two people in pajamas from the looks of it out of the room, far from where he could hear their thoughts. The ashy blond looked over at the younger boy next to him, who was holding tightly to the pokedoll one of the nurses gave him. Or something, he was in another room with another nurse and one of the officers. They were much nicer than the people in the lab coats back at the hideout, that’s for sure, but he couldn’t help but wonder what this all meant; he had seen members of the hideout, the grunts he remembered from both the verbal conversations and some of the mental thoughts he had heard called them, be loaded into police cars with some of the officer’s pokemon looking very angry at them._

_“Bede? Allister?” He looked up and saw the suited man and the pajama duo come back. The man crouched to their eye level on the chairs which was nice, the boy supposed. “Are you two ready to go?”_

.

* * *

.

“Hyha!”

_CLANK!_

Bede and Gloria watched in a mix of horror and awe as they watched the Kalosian Elite Four Member spar with Zacian, while Allister was watching excitedly, apparently used to the idea of watching a man fight a pokemon with weapons. The ghost type gym leader was currently nestled on the fairy gym leader’s Hatterne, the pokemon picking up the quiet child and placing it on its lap while Opal was leaning on her umbrella, shaking her head but chuckling at the scene.

“You never change Wikstrom.” She said simply, earning a grunt from the knight, who was trying to focus on blocking blows.

“You’re not going to have to do that as part of your training, right?” Gloria whispered, earning a harsh hush from Bede.

“Don’t give her any ideas!” Wikstrom attempted to step back, but ended up stumbling on the edge of a Impidimp’s burrow and landed on his rear as Zacian swung her blade down, barely missing the knight.

“Zacian!” Gloria cried out and the wolf looked up at its trainer as if to ask why she was yelling and storming over. “Enough! You almost hurt him!” Wikstrom laughed gently.

“It is fine, young Champion,” He said as he pushed himself up to his feet. “I merely lost my footing on this hole.” He gestured to the burrow, which currently had an unimpressed pokemon poking its head out and scolding the knight before pulling it’s head back into its home. “I trust that Zacian would not have injured me too much,” Gloria was not impressed as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m calling it done now.” Zacian made a reluctant whine but nodded in agreement as Gloria gave her a berry. Wikstrom chuckled as he got back to his feet.

“Very well, perhaps the next time we can continue our spar Zacian.” The pokemon looked hopeful at the idea as her trainer was less impressed with the idea, glaring at the Kalosian Steel User.

“How did you even learn how to do that anyways?” Wikstrom shrugged playfully.

“I have many experiences under my belt.”

“...got a ghost type.” Allister added quietly and Gloria looked momentarily confused before chuckling, shaking her head. 

“Suppose you’re right Allister.” Opal suddenly made a face. “What’s wrong Opal?”

“Oleana’s returning.” Bede visibly tensed as Wikstrom did not look impressed.

“How can you…” Gloria started to ask slowly before shaking her head. “Nevermind…”

“...not a challenger this year, right?” Allister asked as he was gently put down by Bede’s pokemon, who quickly went over to her trainer. “Uses pretty pokemon...but not fairy…”

“Apparently the former chairman wishes to speak with Bede, or that is the excuse last time she used.” Wikstrom explained to Gloria, who made a face of confusion.

“Rose has been in physical therapy and Leon’s all but attached to him to make sure he gets better…”

“So...lying?” Opal and Wikstrom exchanged looks, seeming to be on the same page on what was happening.

“Perhaps a miscommunication.” Opal said quickly. “Bede, please take Gloria and Allister back to the gym.”

“Opal?”

“Now.” Opal said sternly and the three children exchanged looks before Gloria looked at Zacian.

“Keep an eye on them.” She said to the pokemon before giving a look to the adults; they had some explaining to do once Oleana was gone.

“An explanation will come with time.” Wikstrom promised and with much reluctance, the three children walked back to the gym. Once gone, Wikstrom looked at the former gym leader with a soft smile. “Never a dull moment , hmm?” Opal rolled her eyes playfully and shoved the man.

“Just be ready for a battle you old goof.” She said simply as she led the way to the edge of the tangle.

“As you wish my lady.”

.

* * *

_._

_“Why are you reading that?” Rose looked up from the book and sighed._

_“Well, according to Delice, this is supposed to help me understand psychic type pokemon.” Bede raised an eyebrow as he was nudged by the cufant, ushered back into petting the pokemon and giving it attention. “I’m starting to agree with Randy that this is kind of ridiculous.”_

_“Why are you doing it then?” Rose shrugged._

_“It’s good to be well versed in the types I guess, just in case Leon gets himself lost again and Randy and I have to step in as the Champion again.” Bede nodded slowly, deep in thought._

_“What if I became Champion? Then you wouldn’t be so frustrated with those books.” Rose caught himself asking how Bede would know that before chuckling._

_“I mean that is an option, but Leon’s been unbeatable for a while….”_

_“I could go to Trainer School.” Rose stared at Bede in surprise, obviously not expecting it and Bede flushed. “I-I mean if it is alright with you-”_

_“O-Of course Bede!” Rose said quickly. “I’m just startled, that’s all! I mean the trainer school here in Galar is a little notorious for being challenging and there are quite a lot of people there,”_

_“I can tune them out.” Bede promised and Rose couldn’t help but wonder if this was how parents felt when their children went on their challenge. Rose smiled as he nodded._

_“We can start the application process tomorrow morning then, alright?” The smile on Bede’s face was worth the bittersweet feeling in Rose’s own chest._

_._

* * *

.

“Something’s not adding up.” Gloria said as she paced in front of the gym. “Oleana was arrested after the whole debacle, Leon’s got the bruises to prove it!”

“...Bail posted?” Allister offered and Gloria made a face.

“I mean, sure, but she’s not really friendly…” She looked at Bede, who seemed deep in thought. “Did she ever mention family or friends?” Bede looked up, slightly startled and shook his head.

“No, it was always relating to Macros Cosmo or the Chairman in general…” Gloria could tell something was bothering Bede, despite some of the color coming back from his face.

“...think...them?” Allister asked in such a soft tone that Gloria almost didn’t catch him, but Bede snapping his attention certainly signaled there was something said.

“Why would they even bother? They were chased out.” 

“...not exactly subtle ‘bout what happened… was broadcasted. They...see...free chance,” Gloria watched the color again drain from Bede’s face and an uncharacteristic look of panic flashed on his face before shaking his head.

“Still, why would they bother with Oleana?”

“Um can I get an explanation?” Bede and Allister looked at her in confusion, as if forgetting she was there. “Who’s they?” Gloria saw the exchange of looks between the two gym leaders before Bede sighed softly.

“Allister thinks that Team Rocket is behind this.”

.

* * *

.

_"Another nightmare?" Rose asked quietly as the boy scrambled into his bed. The cufant made a tired coo as his Meowth helped the boy get up onto the bed. The boy didn't answer and Rose gently ruffled his hair as the child nestled in between him and his pokemon. Sure Oleana was getting on his case regarding this; the risk of Rocket returning and targeting him, at least Mauis and Lima are trained in self defense, the laundry list of why this was a bad idea was apparently miles according to his VP, but Rose wasn't going to let a bad idea stop him. Speaking of ideas, hopefully he was going to be able to fulfill his idea and surprise Bede before he headed to the Trainer School._

.

* * *

.

“Team Rocket…” Gloria said slowly, her mind racing a mile a minute; sure she knew that the Kantoian-based mafia had attempted to take over Galar once in the past, but they were absolutely crushed by the efforts of the gym leaders, the league chairmen, and Leon. “You think Oleana is part of Team Rocket?” Allister shook his head quickly.

“...blackmailed or bribed.”

“I doubt it was difficult to do either, especially if she was able to get out of jail.” Bede said shortly.

“So why does Team Rocket want anything to do with...?” Gloria started to ask before seeing the face of Bede. “Now what? Nevermind, we just need to figure out how to get them out of here.”

“...Leon?”

“That’s probably not a bad idea…” Bede noted before turning to the youngest of the group, “Allister, can you call him?” Allister nodded and hurried into the gym. Gloria looked at Bede and offered a smile.

“We beat Eternatus, and we beat Rembrant and the Minor League Gym Leaders that were on his side. We can handle Team Rocket.” Bede nodded, but it was clear he wasn’t listening to her. Gloria sighed; looks like she wasn’t going to be only getting an explanation from Opal and Wikstrom. “Bede-”

“Well, well, well,” Bede and Gloria turned as they saw a much older person in the telltale Team Rocket uniform. “If it isn’t you….You cost us quite a bit of research kiddo.” Gloria immediately stepped in front of Bede. “Oh? You got yourself a little girlfriend? I doubt you’ve told her that you’re just a little lab rat, a freak of nature, and all that. Communication is key to a healthy relationship after all.” Gloria grabbed one of her pokeballs as Bede frowned, though it was clear he was shaken up. She tossed out her Cinderace and frowned.

“You need to leave. _Now._ ” The Rocket grunt smirked and pulled out his own pokeball.

“Make me.”

.

* * *

.

_“Chairman-”_

_“Rose, Bede,” The boy looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. “Raihan is acting as Chairman until I get the all clear from the doctors.” Rose made a face. “Well, they’re saying I’ll be able to walk with a cane or a walker….Opal’s not going to let me live it down…” He sighed and looked at Bede. “How is training with her?” Bede opened his mouth. “She already visited and after tag teaming with Melony in chewing my ear off for reckless behavior. We talked about...what happened…” Bede nodded, focusing on the machine’s beeping to make sure he didn’t accidentally lift anything or further injure the man. “I tried to find you earlier...Gloria can attest to that…”_

_“She said that you always got pulled away from a Macros Cosmos employee…”_

_“Yeah...Oleana wasn’t exactly subtle about the stunts she pulled to distract from trying to wake up Eternatus.” Rose sighed. “How I didn’t see that coming is beyond me…”_

_“Don’t blame yourself.” Bede said shortly and Rose went red._

_“You always keep me on my toes Bede…have you told Opal about…” The man trailed off and Bede shook his head quickly. Rose reached and took Bede’s hand and smiled. “Remember Bede, you’re the captain of your fate. Whatever you want to do, it’s just to you.” Rose smiled gently. “I’ll be proud of you no matter what.” Bede fought back tears as he rubbed his nose with his free hand._

_“Thank you Rose…”_

_._

* * *

.

“Damnit,” Gloria mumbled before turning to Bede, as she recalled her pokemon. “Are you ok?” He nodded weakly. “You’ll have to take the next one; my team is exhausted…”

“Gloria I’m-”

“Don’t apologize.” She said sternly. “Obviously they’re dumber than box of broke Sirfetch’d leeks. You’re above whatever ties you’ve got with this stupid team, ok?” Bede smiled slightly before grabbing one of the pokeballs on his belt as another member of Team Rocket stepped out.

“Having difficulty?” She remarked sarcastically, as the grunt struggled to get up, having been whooped by Gloria, though it was close battle. “They’re children.”

“Kid’s tough ma’am.” There was an eye roll from the woman.

“Tch,” She threw out her pokemon, an Arbok, which hissed sinisterly. She smiled patronizingly. “Sorry babies, but prepared to get thrashed.”

“Perrserker! Iron Head!” The Arbok barely had a second to look at where the sound came from before the feline slammed into it, sending into a tree. 

“What the-?!” The woman snapped her attention to the man in the suit leaning heavily against another tree.

“Chairman Rose?!” The woman snapped back to Bede and Gloria, who were equally surprised.

“You had an accomplice? Where is your sense of honor?” The woman growled and threw out another pokemon. “As the interim boss, I'll show you how wrong it is to meddle with Team Rocket!” 

“Hatterne! Mystical Fire!” Bede snapped, throwing out his pokemon, the pokemon crying out and letting loose with it’s attack. The woman turned to Bede.

“You little-”

“Team Rocket is _not_ welcomed here!” Bede snarled and Gloria noticed psychic energy seeming to emit from Bede and she saw the grunt look panicked as he grabbed onto the ground and pebbles seemed to lift off the ground.

“What the…” She whispered, as Bede stared down the woman.

“ _Leave._ ”

.

* * *

.

“Ah-” Wikstrom winced as Nurse Joy rolled her eyes as she applied the antiseptic, while Alma was happily hanging around Allister. Rose was on the phone with the International Police, informing them of what was going on. 

“Leon, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I’m fine.” Opal scolded as she shooed off Leon. He opened his mouth to argue, but Opal noticed Bede being helped by Gloria to one of the waiting couches and walked over. “Child.” Bede looked up at Opal. 

“Opal, I-”

“I’m just glad you’re alright.” She said simply, ruffling the boy’s hair. Bede grumbled in embarrassment, but he was smiling. “And you as well Gloria.” Gloria nodded as another nurse came over with their pokemon. 

“My mum and Hop are going to have a conniption…” She sighed as she took her pokemon. “I promised I’d be back by lunch,”

“You can just tell them we got caught up in battling…” Bede said slowly before his face went pink. “I-I was going to get take away later so there’d be no way to corroborate you staying for lunch!” Gloria stared at him, face both horrified and bright pink as Bede turned away from her. 

“I don’t think Allister, Wikstrom, Leon, or Rose would mind joining us for lunch, as well as Gloria.” Opal teased. “I’ll go place the order then,” She sashayed away as the two teens stammered out their arguments.


	23. A Surprise Confession (of Sorts)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A comedic drabble where one gym leader's feelings for another get all but blasted on the jumbotron and we see who Opal needs to whack upside the head with her umbrella.
> 
> Again.

...

“What are you doing Randy?” Rose asked as he walked up to the Minor League Chairman watching a match on the field.

“I’m watching a train wreck.” Rose raised an eyebrow. “Ace is battling Bea.”

“Oh...Has he told her yet?”

“Nope,” Rose sighed; the Flying Type Gym Leader had a not so subtle crush on the Fighting Type Leader and despite the ‘help’ of his fellow Major and Minor Leaders, he still hadn’t told his fellow leader about his feelings.

“Hopefully he doesn’t chicken out this time. I’m half tempted to look the other way and let Raihan handle this.” The Minor League Chairman stared at Rose.

“You’d let _Raihan_ handle this? You do know that kid has no social skills outside of his phone.” Rose shrugged apathetically.

“He turned out better than I did." Randolf looked at Rose with an eyebrow raise.

"He’s being an ass over social media again?" Rose didn't answer and the other man sighed. “And they say that Mustard’s shit at social media.” He sighed, earning a look from Rose. “Klara’s been on my ass complaining during her daily phone call, whining about the lack of social media, no one’s allowed to take selfies, the same old same old.” Rose made a face.

“Wasn’t it her idea to go train there?”

“Yeap. Apparently thought that since he seemed so nice in the ad, he’d basically let her glide through the training.” Rose snorted; Mustard was hardly someone who’d let anyone get away with slack. Despite the former Champion’s experiences with the previous chairmen of the League, the old man was relatively chill with them. Granted he and Mustard had butted heads when Rose had endorsed Leon, but both eventually realized (meaning Opal whacked them upside the head with her umbrella) that they both had Leon’s best interests in mind. 

"Whoops."

“Yeah, she wants me to talk to Mustard in letting her go early, but for ‘some’ reason the call always cuts when she gets to that.” Rose looked at the blond's shit eating grin.

“She’ll kill you when she finds out that you just hang up on her.”

“With what pokemon?” Rose snorted as Bea landed a critical, finishing with the battle. Both men applauded as the two gym leaders shook hands. “Congratulations Bea! You’ve put up quite a fight there Ace!” Bea nodded as they handed over their pokemon to the on site nurses.

“Thank you Chairman.” Bea said. “It was a difficult battle.”

“You stood your ground quite well.” Bea’s eyes widened as the chairmen turned to see the girl’s parents, Lima and Mauis.

“Mum! Dad!” Bea stepped up to them and bowed. They bowed in return as Rose raised an eyebrow.

“This is a surprise." He said. "I thought you two were training on the Isle of Armor.”

“We are, but Master Mustard sent us here on an errand-”

“I’m not here if it’s anything to do with Klara.” Randolf said quickly and the woman made a face. 

“No, it isn’t about Klara.” She said. “She’s actually been improving since the champion arrived to take on the challenge.” Randolf didn’t look convinced and the woman rolled her eyes. “Master Mustard has some items that need to be picked up in Wydon, and we heard that Bea was battling and wished to see how she was doing.”

“We visited Allister earlier this morning at the gym.” Mauis said simply. “He is doing quite well on his own.” Mauis turned his attention to Ace and crossed his arms, towering over the teen. “And _you_ are?”

“My name is Ace sir…” The Flying Gym Leader said weakly, obviously trying to hide the fact that he was intimidated by the former gym leader.

“He’s the gym leader over in the town near Wydon, near those airfields.” Randolf explained.

“I know.” Rose and Randolf exchanged looks as Lima wiped her face.

“Mauis.” She warned as Bea looked confused.

“Dad?”

“Allister and Raihan mentioned you and your _interest_ in my daughter.” Bea looked at Ace, who went pale as Lima glared at her husband.

“ _Mauis_. Don’t you dare-” She was ignored as Mauis took Ace’s shoulder and all but dragged Ace onto the field. Bea turned to her mother, confusion obvious.

“Mum? What’s Dad doing?”

“During our visit, Allister mentioned that the young man had been challenging you to battles quite a bit recently,”

“Yeah, for practice…” Bea said slowly.

“And I'm guessing that Raihan mentioned Ace’s crush?” Rose offered and Lima nodded. “Yeah, I could see Mauis as an overprotective dad.” Bea stared at the adults before turning to see the impromptu battle happening. 

“I don’t have a replacement if you kill him!” Randolf yelled at the two battling. Mauis made a gesture that wasn’t the most comforting of gestures and Randolf looked at Rose. “I’m calling Opal; she should be able to help.” Randolf turned and headed to the lobby as Lima rubbed the bridge of her nose, clearly done with her husband.

“At least now I understand why he wanted to tag along this errand…" She looked at her daughter who raised an eyebrow. "He knows you can handle yourself; he's just overreacting. Your Grandfather was the same; afraid of his little girl growing up." Rose nodded in support and Lima looked at the chairman. "I should stop him," Rose shrugged.

"I mean you should, but I haven't seen Opal wield her umbrella as a weapon in a while so there's that," 

“Valid point, it may finally knock some sense into him.” Bea stared at her mother and the chairman before deciding that she really didn’t want to know, turning to watch the battle and take what notes she could from her father’s battling style.


	24. The Second Darkest Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My take on the events during the climax of the story of Sword and Shield, where Gloria climbs the Rose Tower to face the mastermind behind the chaos that went down during the League.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important to Note:  
> -Spoilers Relative to the Ending of SW/SH, but keep in mind that this is a different version of the region's story, compared to what actually went down in the game.

...

“Mr. Chairman,” Gloria asked slowly as she was sitting at the table with Rose, Leon, and Hop during the pre-championship dinner. “When did you catch your Cufant?”

“I caught him along with my brother’s cufant right before I took on the League.” Rose said, chuckling as he saw her and Hop’s reaction. “Cufant and I didn’t like the idea of evolving him so the first purchase I made on my own was an everstone and he’s kept it ever since.” Rose chuckled. “He likes being able to sit on laps and the adoring coos from everyone so it’s a win win,”

“He’s still heavy though,” Leon joked and Hop snickered.

“You’re the one who sneaks him poffins.” Leon feigned horror as Gloria and Hop laughed.

“So who else do you have on your team?” Hop asked curiously and the chairman chuckled.

“You want to battle after dinner?” The chairman teased and Hop looked hesitant before forcing a smile and a laugh.

“You never know what’s going to happen! I gotta be prepared for anything when I become Champion!” Rose noticed the hesitation but didn’t say anything about it.

“Well, I usually just keep Perrserker and Cufant with me,” Rose shrugged. “That’s usually all I ever need when Randolf and I have to stand in as Champion.” Both Hop and Gloria looked at him in confusion and Rose quickly explained. “The chairmen of both the Minor and Major League always stand in as the Champion if the current champion is preoccupied, sick, or they get themselves lost on the way to the stadium despite living less than a block away.” Leon’s face flushed in embarrassment as both Gloria and Hop gave the current champion a look.

“That’s always been a thing though!” Leon said quickly before trying to change the subject. “Randolf’s got a normal and a psychic type, right?” Rose nodded.

“He changes up his team quite a bit, but I believe that’s his current team. I think Allister’s been trying to convince him to give ghost types a try.” Rose shrugged. “Either way, I don’t exactly have a traditional go to team,” 

“That seems pretty smart I guess,” Gloria said. “You keep your opponent on your toes because they can’t prepare until it’s too late,” Rose nodded.

“That is true,”

“What about that one pokemon?” Leon asked. “The one that friend of yours sent you?” Gloria noticed the momentary flash of panic on the older man’s face but it was quickly covered with a smile. 

“Ah, well, he’s still adapting to Galar,” Rose said quickly with a laugh. “After all, Alola has slightly different weather than here. So it’ll be a bit before he’s comfortable with exploring the cities, let alone battling,”

“Aw that’s a bummer,” Leon said, seeming to miss the man’s expression moments earlier. “I was kinda hoping to seem the pokemon soon,”

“Maybe after things settle down after the Grand Finals.” Leon beamed excitedly as the waiters came with their food. “But for now, let’s eat and enjoy!” Before they could dig in though, a Macros Cosmo employee came over to the table.

“Chairman, you need to see this…” Rose looked confused but excused himself and followed the man out of the dinning hall. Gloria watched the man leave before Leon spoke up.

“I’ll go see what’s up,” Leon said. “You two stay here and have a champion time!” He flashed them a smile and left the table. As soon as the champion left, Gloria and Hop exchanged looks and nodded; it was time for some real answers. They left the table and snuck after Leon, barely catching him slip into an office after the chairman.

“What are you two idiots doing?” Hop nearly peeled out of his skin as Gloria turned around, crossing her arms.

“I’d ask you the same Bede. And you too Marnie,”

“I’m going to talk to the chairman.” 

“And I’m going to make sure he doesn’t follow through and punch him.” Marnie said simply, earning a glare from Bede. “I did cover for you when the security caught you sneaking around.” Bede crossed his arms and grumbled.

“My brother went after Rose when he left the table,” Hop said. “Something’s going-” There was a loud rumbling, which nearly sent all four to the ground. “What the heck was that?!” Hop got his answer as there were loud cries from outside. “Dynamaxed Pokemon?!” There was a loud crash from the office and without hesitation, the four teenagers rushed over and threw open the door. “Leon!” Leon turned, eyes widening in horror.

“Hop! Gloria! Get out of here! It’s too-”

“Cinderace! Hit that tile!” Gloria threw out her pokemon, who made quick work of a loose ceiling tile that would’ve taken out Leon and the chairman. Leon stared at the tile rubble before looking at Gloria, who crossed her arms. “Explain.”

“Gloria, this really-”

“Considering she just saved your thick skull, you owe her that much.” Bede pointed out and Leon made a face before rubbing the bridge of his nose, about to argue while Gloria noticed that Hop didn’t jump in to defend his brother.

“He’s right,” Rose said, managing to yank out his jacket from under the rubble that destroyed his desk and helped out the employee, who had fallen down. “Given how soon they showed up, they would’ve found out anyways.” Rose gave the four of them a parental-level warning look before sighing. “I’m sure you four know that there’s been an influx of Dynamaxing of both pokemon partners and wild pokemon, right?” Four nods. “I’ve been working with the other businesses of Galar to see what information we can get and figure out what’s going on,” He looked at the employee, who was trying to get his Rotom to bring the tablet back to life. “David was going to show me where they found where most of the energy is coming from,”

“What do you mean?” Marnie asked.

“It’s a theory, but there is a chance that someone has enough Dynamax Crystals, they could manipulate nearby power spots, but you’d all but have to find Eternatus to have that much energy to cause enough problems.”

“Uh sir...you might need to amend that…” Rose turned to David, who showed him the tablet. “It looks like the readings are spiking near the tower.”

“What!?” Rose took the tablet and stared at the findings. “No one should even be there right now!” Rose rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“We can go check it out,” Gloria said. “If it is nothing, then we should be able to turn the tower off, right?” Leon made a face.

“Gloria, it’s not-”

“I’m with Gloria.” Hop said, startling his brother. “Even if there is something, we can more than handle it.”

“I know, but Hop, I don’t want you guys to get hurt,”

“We can handle it!” Hop exclaimed. “You gotta trust us Leon! We can hold our own in battle and we want to help!” Leon looked conflicted.

“Now you know how I felt when you dove in to try and help with catching that organization.” Rose muttered under his breath before facing the four. “A compromise; you four can come with Leon and I to the tower and see what’s going on, but if things get too dangerous, you leave and go get help from the leaders, alright?” There was only a slight moment’s pause before Gloria spoke for the group.

“Let’s go.”

.

* * *

.

“This is huge…” Marnie whispered as they got up to the tower. “What is this for anyways?”

“Main offices,” Rose said simply as he overrode the door security with his keycard, opening the way to the main lobby. “Oleana suggested it since it’s close enough to important places, and it does work as an apartment complex for when we have to pull all nighters." Rose chuckled awkwardly before frowning. "What the…" The six stared at the few Macros Cosmos employees mingling around. Rose stepped forward but Bede stopped him. “Bede?”

“They’re not going to listen,” Bede said and the trio of teens exchanged looks of confusion as Leon bumped into one of the chairs, grabbing the attention of said employees, who seemed to have a purplish aura emit from them.

“That’s not good…” Hop said slowly as the employees pulled out their pokeballs. 

“The generator’s on the top floor, isn’t it?” Bede asked and Rose nodded.

“Then we’ll cover for you,” Leon said, pulling out his pokeball. “You get the generator and shut the tower down and it should help at least!” Rose nodded.

“I’ll go too.” Gloria said firmly, the tone of voice shutting down any arguments, not that it would have mattered to her rivals; they knew first hand that she was more than capable of handling herself. Leon was about to argue but one of the employee’s pokemon launched at his face and the scuffle began. “Let’s go!” Rose nodded and led Gloria to the stairwell. They hurried up the flights, sneaking past more grunts, who were heading down as back up. 

“The hell is going on…” Rose whispered.

“Maybe Sonia might know,” Gloria whispered back as they made it up to the top floor. “She’s been finding a lot about Galar’s history that’s pretty different from what I know,” Rose nodded.

“I suppose once all of this is over, I’ve got to make an appointment with her.” He offered with a chuckle and they fell to silence as Rose used his key card and fought with the door to get it open. Gloria debated telling him what she learned from Bede before Opal had all but kidnapped him, but she lost her chance as he opened the door. 

Despite the ceiling tall windows showing off a gorgeous night sky, there was an ominous feeling in the air, and Gloria had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right. Rose must’ve sensed it too, as he led the way, careful to keep Gloria within arm’s reach before stopping suddenly. 

“Chairman?” She asked slowly before looking around the man, eyes widening.

“Oleana?!” Rose exclaimed. 

“Chairman,” Oleana said, turning to face them, acting as if this was a normal conversation. “You should be at the dinner-”

“There’s wild Dynamax Pokemon running rampant! What the hell are you doing here?!” He exclaimed. “And what’s going on with our employees downstairs?!” Oleana frowned slightly.

“They were supposed to stop anyone from coming. Well, except Leon of course.”

“That doesn’t answer my damn question!” A brief thought of her mum murdering the chairman for his choice of words flashed through Gloria’s head before she noticed the crystal-like stalagmites behind Oleana.

“What are those…?” Gloria said, the chill growing stronger as she pulled her attention back to Oleana, who did not look impressed with Gloria.

“Galar is running low on energy and this is the best way possible to guarantee that the region will be sufficient for years to come,”

“The energy problems wouldn’t show up for a hundred years!” Rose snapped. “And the programs we were going to introduce were going to be _after_ the League during the off season! And how in all that is holy is this going to help Galar!?” Rose was clearly fighting to keep his temper as Oleana crossed her arms.

“We are going to awaken Eternatus and use the energy to power Galar.”

“ _WHAT?!_ ” Oleana rolled her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“The child I can understand, but you Chairman?” Oleana said. “I’m sure you’ve seen the readings; Galar will not last the way it is going now, especially after what happened in Kalos.” 

“We’re in the middle of a fucking League Challenge Oleana! And even if we weren’t, what the fuck are you thinking summoning the pokemon that caused the Darkest Day?!” Rose looked ready to pop a blood vessel and Gloria took his arm.

“I’ll battle some sense into her. You cover me.” Rose looked at Gloria momentarily confused, before realizing that the girl had a complete team on her at the ready and that perhaps Oleana was like the employees. The man nodded and Oleana made a face before sighing, pulling out her own pokemon.

“Very well.”

.

* * *

.

It all happened too fast.

One moment Oleana was recalling her last pokemon looking disgusted and frustrated, the next the room seemed to shake and there was a pokemon cry that Gloria had never heard. The floor under her and Oleana began to glow, startling both the vice president and her. The chairman had called out her name, and the next thing she knew she was hitting the floor as the chairman cried out in pain. She turned just in time to see a trail of purple energy escape to the rooftop and she scrambled to her feet and gave chase, barely processing what had just occurred, ignoring the look of horror that Oleana had on her face as she made it to the roof access and climbed into it.

“Chairman Rose?!” She panted as she got to the rooftop, relief momentarily filling her as she saw the chairman casually standing, closing out his pokemon box and looking at his watch, before her relief turned into dread as she saw the same purple energy emit from him that had been emitting from the employees, and the man had a wicked smirk on his face.

“This is not...the host I was promised,” Rose’s voice was deeper, like another voice was using his. “But, it will work for the time being,” The man looked at Gloria, his expression turning to one of patronizing bemusement. 

Bede probably would’ve been proud had the circumstances been different. 

“What did you do to the chairman?” She asked slowly.

“This man,” Rose gestured to himself. “Is currently my host. At least until I have enough energy to enact my plans. I do believe you people called it the ‘Darkest Day’ the last time.” Gloria blinked and the man chuckled. “I may have been asleep for three thousand years, but my reach is far.”

“And Oleana woke you up…”

“I was awakening far before _that_ woman was even aware of my existence. However, her consistent proximity to my meteorite certainly did not harm in convincing her to awaken me to fulfill her goals." He shrugged. "At least it is not over some dead pokemon I was awaken for this time." Gloria opened her mouth, paused, and then closed it; now didn't seem to be the time to get a history lesson.

"So you possessed her?" Rose scoffed.

"Hardly. I merely...showed her an option." The smirk grew into a wicked grin. "All her choices were of her own volition," Gloria frowned. "Do you not believe me?"

"You're possessing the chairman. You did something to his employees!" Rose made an apathetic shrug.

"They will be fine for the most part. Some people actually thought it was a honor back in the day,"

"To be possessed!?" Gloria quickly shook her head and grabbed her pokeball. The man raised an eyebrow but a smirk tugged at his lips.

"You are a foolish child, but I suppose that comes with those that those two mutts chose." Gloria made a face but steadied her focus as whatever was possessing the chairman pulled put a pokemon. "Let’s see how powerful you really are," He tossed out Rose’s Perrserker, which judging from the miserable look on the pokemon's face, along with the energy coming off of it, Gloria was going to be a long battle. She made a silent prayer to whichever Legendary was watching and threw out her pokemon. 

The battles were difficult, especially since Eternatus had not only powered the pokemon up with whatever power he currently had, but had also added pokemon to Rose’s team that had the type advantage over her own. Granted she had no idea what the white crested pokemon was, but she figured it was the Alolan pokemon Rose and Leon had mentioned during dinner. 

"You are a pesky little one," Eternatus grunted as he recalled the fourth pokemon before scoffing. "But I doubt you can handle finishing off this one as well!" He threw out the last pokemon and a truly unhappy and miserable looking Copperajah appeared. Gloria’s eyes went wide.

"You evolved his cufant?!" She exclaimed in horror. Was it too late and the Legendary already too powerful?! 

"He was merely holding it back with that blasted stone, so I destroyed it and made things as it should be." Eternatus mused as Dynamax Energy surrounded the man's wristband. "Especially given this pokemon's capabilities!"

"W-What the…" Gloria’s eyes widened in horror as Eternatus gigamaxed the pokemon, a somber cry echoing through the sky. Gloria tightened her grip on her still surviving pokemon; things didn't look good but she knew if she gave up, the all of Galar was in trouble. She took a deep breath as the creature chuckled darkly.

"Your move."

.

* * *

.

"You insolent whelp!" Eternatus snarled as he staggered back as the pokemon collapsed onto the ground. Gloria couldn't help but step back as the man harshly pulled on Rose’s jacket. "I see. If you want something done right, then you have to do it yourself." Before she could ask what that meant, the purple dragon-like energy flowing from the chairman seemed to flow from him faster as there was a manic look before the energy took over and Gloria had to step back as Eternatus took it's true form, spindly looking pinchers keeping the chairman suspended in the creature’s body. She barely managed to hold her ground as the Legendary Beast howled and the world seemed to shake as Dynamax energy swirled around the two of them.

"Hatterne! Mystical Fire!"

"Dubwool! Crunch!"

"Grimmsnarl! False Swipe!" All of sudden, the voices of Gloria’s rivals came from behind her as their pokemon landed their hits on the large pokemon.

"G-Guys?! How-What about-?! Oleana?!" Gloria managed out.

"Leon’s handling her no problem!" Hop said with a forced laugh before looking up at Eternatus who was distracted by the others' pokemon. "Geez…"

"Here, let me heal your pokemon," Bede said, taking Gloria’s attention and her pokemon team. "You're an idiot to fight him alone." The tone was harsh, but there was a hint of concern that Gloria found weirdly comforting.

"I know. He fights dirty," She managed out tiredly before looking back at the trio of pokemon, who weren't doing so hot as they were knocked out and knocked out. "Aw shit…" Eternatus howled in anger and seemed to be powering up an attack. Hop immediately took her hand, a reflex of when things would spook him but he'd never wish to admit it and Gloria squeezed it tightly as the attack was fired at the four.

But it never came.

Gloria’s eyes widened in shock as a pair of fierce howls cut through the air as a familiar wolf like pokemon shielded the attack.

"Z-Zamazenta!?" Hop exclaimed as Eternaus cried out in pain as another wolf freed the chairman from the beast. “That’s Zacian! But how-”

“They must’ve sensed what was going on.” Marnie said slowly as the ground grumbled and Eternatus howled, seeming to summon more Dynamax energy, engulfing itself in the energy. “He can gigamax too?!”

“We have to stop him.” Gloria said. 

“I’d love to know your plan,” Bede snarked, a hint of worry in his voice. Gloria made a face.

“We battle it.” She said as if it was obvious. “You and Marnie share my team, Hop and Zamazenta cover me and Zacian.” Bede’s expression was priceless as Hop looked between Marnie and Bede, as if to get confirmation that he wasn’t hearing things.

“We’ll try to cover for you,” Marnie said firmly and before the other two could argue, Eternaus roared in anger, readying another attack. 

“I guess this is going to be a weird chapter in my story…” Hop said weakly before looking at Zamazenta. “Let’s do this!”

“You’re bloody insane Gloria.” Bede remarked coolly before calling out her starter. “But you’ve hardly made any mistakes before.” Gloria raised an eyebrow before rolling her eyes and turning to face the Legendary Beast, a feeling that she had felt in the Slumbering Weld rise through her as the name of the attack came to her.

“Zacian! Behemoth Blade!”

.

* * *

.

“W-We beat him…” Gloria said in relief as the two wolves seemed to disappear as soon as the danger was gone. As soon as they were gone, Gloria felt her knees buckle, though thankfully Marnie was able to catch her as well as Hop as he stumbled back.

“Wow….I could nap for ages…” Hop laughed weakly as Marnie got him to the floor. “Or puke…”

“Well don’t do it on my shoes.” Marnie ordered before looking at Bede. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just trying to see-Ah! Chairman Rose!” Bede hurried over to the man’s crumpled form, the man struggling to get to a sitting position and clearly not managing that. “Chairman, you’re injured, stop-”

“Bede?” Rose weakly asked and Bede frowned as he helped alleviate the chairman’s head and chest.

“Yes, it’s me, but you need to stop moving and talking, you’ve probably-”

“I’m sorry.” Bede almost dropped the chairman.

“W-What?”

“Oleana...said you dropped to train harder…said you didn’t want...to disappoint me...” Rose said, though it was clear he was starting to fade. “I didn’t mean to push you too hard…” The older man tried to reach for the blonde. “You’ve made me so proud…you always will...” Rose’s eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped, out cold in the boy’s arm.

“B-Bede?” Gloria asked slowly as the boy gently set down the chairman as Leon made it to the roof, followed by other gym leaders and trainers.

“They’re over here!”

“Hurry! Bring the first aid kit over here!”

.

* * *

.

“Welcome People of Galar!” The Minor League Chairman, a blond haired man by the name of Randolf, announced as he walked onto the center field. It had been a few days since the incident, and with the all clear from the doctors, the teens found themselves standing in the field. Bede expressed his confusion at being allowed, since he didn’t have the endorsement papers anymore, but there was a cryptic explanation from Randolf before he started the event. “Are you all ready to see the Elite Four battle it out to see who faces Champion Leon?!” Leon waved from the sidelines, the black eye he had gotten from a very angry Oleana not as noticeable as it was the night he got it. The crowd roared with excitement, though silenced slightly as Randolf spoke during one of the quieter moments. “Now, as is tradition, our top four gym leaders take the role of the Elite Four and face off with any challenger that made it through all eight gyms as well as each other to face the champ; however, I speak for Chairman Rose, the champion, and the Major and Minor Leaders when I say that we have four trainers that have more than proved they earned the title of Elite Four! Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for this year’s Elite Four! Bede of Wydon!” Bede’s eyes went wide.

“What?!”

“Marnie of Spikemuth!”

“O-Oh shit…”

“And Hop and Gloria of Postwick!” 

“What the-!?” The crowd was deafening as the gym leaders nudged and ushered the four to the center field towards the chairman. “W-We’re the Elite Four?!”

“That’s what I said Hop.” Randolf said. “Rules are easy; first to three victories earns their chance to face Leon and attempt to take the title. Gloria and Marnie will battle first, followed by Bede and Hop, then we go to the loser match and then the winners. And after that is the big one, ok?” Gloria looked at the three and stole a glance at the crowd cheering and getting hyped before facing Randolf.

“Let’s do this!”


	25. Prompt: Sonia and Nessa's Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A suggestions from elbris, we see Sonia and Nessa's friendship dynamic while the newly minted professor deals with the shenanigans that occur when you have a book signing.

..

“You know you don’t have to come,” Sonia said gently. “It’s going to be kinda boring,”

“Pfft,” She scoffed. “I doubt it, I mean you’ve rocked the entire Galar region with your findings and this is a book signing!” Nessa laughed as she hugged her friend, careful not to accidentally make her drop the extra books she brought to the event.

“You just want an excuse to battle the ones that get too rowdy,” Sonia argued and Nessa feigned innocence.

“Now what would give you that idea?” Sonia didn’t look impressed.

“Gloria said she could hear you cussing out to Raihan from Wydon.” Nessa’s face fell.

“Oh…well, it sucks losing...ya know.”

“Yeah, but maybe you can dial back the...drastic gym makeovers?” Nessa rolled her eyes.

“I’ll think about it, but anyways, we’re here for you!” Nessa as they got to the table the bookstore set up. “This’ll be fun, hopefully it doesn’t get too swamped.” Sonia nodded.

“Yeah...I’m also kinda hoping I don’t get too many angry people...I mean..I really did rock Galar with my findings…” Nessa scoffed.

“You’re the sweetest person I know! Sides, it’s not your fault people got information wrong,” Nessa argued as they sat down. “You’re just clearing up the information.”

“Yeah, you’re right,”

.

* * *

.

The day went by relatively slowly. Some people did come to get signed books from Sonia and asked her questions, but most people went and did their own last minute shopping and walked by the table. There were a few people that were itching for a fight with the newly minted professor, but took one look at Nessa and decided that "stupidity" was not going to be the reason they died that day and didn't get close.

“What’s the time?” Nessa asked and Sonia checked her watch.

“About ten till noon.” Nessa made a face.

“Sheesh, the day’s going slow…”

“Yeah,"

"You want me to grab us some lunch?” Sonia looked at Nessa. “I mean, I don’t think you can leave the table,”

“I mean if you want to,” Sonia admitted sheepishly and Nessa nodded before calling out her Drednaw. “Uh…”

“Just to remind the stragglers to behave.” Nessa said simply before looking at her pokemon. “If they bother Sonia, bite ‘em.” She looked at Sonia with a cheeky grin. "I'll be right back!" With a slight flourish, the gym leader strutted off, leaving Sonia to watch her leave with a chuckle.

"She hasn't changed at all." Nessa’s pokemon looked at her knowingly, gently bumping his head against Sonia’s leg. She petted the pokemon as a pair of blonds entered the shop.

“A-Ah! Chairman Randolf! Rembrandt! Welcome to the store!” Sonia’s face fell as the staff welcomed the two; the Minor League Chairman and his brother were well known to be direct descendents to the original heroes of Galar, she had been dreading meeting the two, especially given the information she had uncovered and put out in her book. 

“Naw?” Sonia looked at the pokemon.

“No! You can’t bite them!” She hissed. “I’d rather not have Nessa in the middle of an incident with the chairmen again!” The Drednaw gave her the look of ‘You really think she isn’t already?’ and Sonia sighed. 

“Excuse me?” Sonia looked up and saw the chairman looking at her, his brother distracted with an employee leading him the opposite direction. “Professor Sonia?” Sonia’s face flushed in embarrassment.

“Ah I mean I’m still waiting on the papers, so I’m technically not the professor yet, Chairman…”

“Please, Randolf’s fine,” The short hair blonde said, waving gently. “Perk of being the region’s professor and all. Besides, it’s official enough to count for me,” Sonia nodded slowly. “And this is the book everyone’s talking about, right?”

“Yeah, my first publication,” Sonia said as he picked up the display book and skimmed the back. “Gloria and Hop helped me a lot with it,” The chairman nodded as the employee came over and whispered something in his ear. He thanked the employee before looking at Sonia and chuckling sheepishly. 

“My brother’s...a bit of a proud ass.” He explained. “He found out I wanted to come to your signing and invited himself to come along so I got him lost.” 

“You did?”

“Of course! Rose was telling me about the book while he was recovering, and I wanted to support a local author.” He chuckled. “I suppose Hop or Leon gave him a copy to borrow…”

“That would make sense,” Sonia said. “Leon’s not much of a reader…and he’s busy with some project now, right?”

“Yeah, but your guess is as good as mine on what it is,” He noticed the pokemon who was giving him a warning stink eye. “Nessa is here?”

“She’s grabbing lunch for the two of us,” As if on cue, Nessa came back with take away bags.

“Chairman Randolf,” She said coolly.

“Nessa, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Randolf said professionally. “And don’t worry, my brother thinks she’s at the other end of the store, but if he does come around, I will be busy checking out and leaving the store so knock some sense into him.”

“Checking out?” Nessa asked and Randolf gestured to Sonia and her books. “What.”

“What? Just because it directly contradicts my family history doesn’t mean I’m offended by it.” Randolf said. “Sides, Rose has said good things about it, so call me curious. And like I said earlier, I'd like to support local authors." He placed the display book back and took one of the books next to it. "Besides, I need reading material for the next meeting when Kabu and Delice get into a snark match."

"I thought she was retiring?” Nessa asked as she sat and handed Sonia her lunch.

“That’s what she told me, but I haven’t been told who she picked, if she has.” He sighed in annoyance. “At least Opal pretended to follow the rules,”

“Didn’t she all but kidnap that kid?” Sonia asked. “Gloria made it seem like that…” Randolf opened his mouth before closing it.

"That sounds like Opal." He muttered. “There’s a reason I’m fine with running the Minor League, and leaving her to Rose.” He shook his head. “Well, thank you for the chat, but I better leave you to continue your signing. Have a good rest of the day ladies,” He walked towards the check out with the book he took, leaving the two in mild confusion.

“I never thought that the chairmen were so…”

“Chill?” Nessa offered and Sonia nodded. “Yeah, it’s a little weird…but at least he wasn’t an ass about your book.”

“Yeah, that’s true,”

“I’d hate to have to explain to Chairman Rose why he was cosplaying as a Trubbish next meeting.” 

“Nessa!” Sonia exclaimed and Nessa batted her eyelashes at Sonia playfully.

“What? If I don’t do it, Leon’ll get lost in trying to do it, and Raihan will be distracted in making it look good to deliver the proper punishment.” Sonia groaned in embarrassment. “Well am I wrong?”

“No...but I don’t want you guys to get in trouble over me…” Nessa leaned over a flicked her friend’s nose

“We’re friends, so of course we’re going to have your back.” She said firmly as Sonia rubbed her nose. “In our own special ways, sure, but we’re not going to just leave you hanging cause you’re the professor now.” Sonia smiled gently.

“Thank you…”

“No problems, now come on, let’s eat before it gets cold!”


	26. Chilling with the Chairman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble starring Rose as he tries to relax at home after the events of the Second Darkest Day. Thankfully he's not completely alone.

..

“Coo?” 

“Ah, sorry, sorry, I’ll hurry up.” The Copperajah placed a trunk warily on its trainer’s shoulder and Rose smiled gently, turning away from the mirror. “Just trying to get used to...it, that’s all...” He said before carefully pulling on the large grey sweater, which now was hanging pretty loosely off his frame. “I guess I’ll have to take up Nessa’s offer and let her help get me a new wardrobe…” He sighed softly; he had been released from the hospital from the incident and he was still getting used to the new normal. His former cufant was obviously scared that now that it was evolved things would be different, but Rose continuously promised that it was going to be fine, just needing to rearrange a couple of things, and make sure that Raihan didn’t try and borrow him to force Gordie and Piers to take care of himself. Last thing he needed was that kind of shenanigans when the League was in it’s off season. 

Speaking of shenanigans, Leon still hadn't told him what he was planning to do with the tower, once all traces of Eternatus were safely out and gone. The former champion was obviously giddy about it, but surprisingly tight lipped when he'd take Rose to physical therapy. Just saying that he'd see when he got it all ready. Rose chuckled softly to himself; at least he was taking the loss a lot better than a lot of the region's previous champions did when they lost. Rose made his way downstairs, helped by his pokemon, to get himself some breakfast and figure out what he was going to do today; while he got the all clear to leave the hospital, the doctors were pretty admandant about him not returning to work just yet. Which was fair, but that left him a little more than bored at home.

“ _ Bzzt!  _ Someone’s calling!” His Rotom Phone buzzed to life and floated over. “It’s Melony’s number!” Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Well that’s not expected, but let her on, that’s fine…” Rose said, exchanging looks of confusion with his pokemon as the Rotom floated, answering the call.

"Ah! Chairman!" The woman exclaimed happily before her face flushed. "Ah, I didn't mean to call before you got dressed!" Rose made a face.

"Mel, you know I wear stuff like this when I don't wear suits."

"It does look like pajamas though," she argued. 

"I lost a lot of weight 2 weeks ago," Was the deadpan retort. Melony raised an eyebrow.

"Chairman…you should be taking care of yourself,"

"I am, I am," He said. "Is there a reason why you called other than to make me agree to Nessa’s fashion help?" Rose frowned before groaning. "Shit that's right, its his year to take the gym now," Every year, as soon as the Challenge was over, Melony would spend the week in Wydon with Rose, while Gordie handled things in Circhester. "I mean, I'm not allowed to do any heavy lifting and no drinking, but if you want, you're more than welcome to come over,” Melony smiled. 

“Thank you Rose, I’ll be there,” She hung up and Rose let out a sigh and looked between his three pokemon and phone.

“Welp, this is going to be interesting.”

.

* * *

.

It started off when Rose first became Chairman, as a way to extend the laurel branch to Melony, given that she wasn’t  _ exactly _ a fan of the man to start. Eventually she had warmed up to the man, and the two became good friends, being each other’s listening ear and someone to bounce ideas off of. Nowadays it was just a way for Melony to have a break while her son changed the gym over and to get ready for dealing with not being the city's gym leader for the year. Of course there was always talk of the two being more than just friends, but Rose always explained that he and Melony were just friends and that he only had eyes for, and was married to, the league, which always earned some laughter from reporters, especially when Opal would make a smart ass comment if she was in earshot about at least getting dinner first from the chairman with talk like that.

“I’m here,” She said as she walked into the house.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Rose said, though he sounded a bit winded. Melony hurried and found the man leaning against the counter, while a large Copperajah was steadying him. She blinked in confusion as Rose seemed to get his bearings. “Ah, sorry, stood up too fast and I got light headed…” He laughed nervously. “Thanks Cu…” Melony’s eyes widened.

“That’s Cu?!” The pokemon looked sheepish as Rose nodded.

“Yeah...Eternatus destroyed the everstone…” Rose said softly as Melony came closer. 

“And forced an evolution? How…” Rose shrugged.

“Probably had the shared expy thing, the prick,” Melony stared at Rose. “What?”

“You got possessed by a horrifying monstrosity that almost destroyed the region, and you’re calling it a  _ prick _ ?!”

“I mean it was…” Melony groaned and wiped her face. “Hey, if I don’t laugh about this, I’ll be giving Piers a run for his money in curling up into a ball.”

“You know that you are allowed to be at least minorly freaked out about it.” Melony argued. “You don’t have to be smiling all the time.”

“I know, I know, I’m just...just not right now…” Rose said, trailing off into a whisper. “After the Major and Minor League Exhibition, then I can really unpack what happened...I just really don’t want to be emotionally vulnerable when Peony’s in town.” Melony nodded slowly; Rose had trusted her with the knowledge about the relationship he had with his brother, and the real reason why he never evolved his pokemon.

“He’d probably not care about it…” She offered and Rose shrugged.

“Maybe...oh! Here, let me introduce you to Silvally.” Melony raised an eyebrow as Rose called over the pokemon. “The doctors said I shouldn’t have them in their pokeballs, in case I decide to introduce my face to the floor, and I don’t want to freak you out in the middle of the night,” He forced a chuckle before leading out the white, silver, and dark green pokemon. Melony blinked slowly as the pokemon approached her, sniffing her and studying her warily. “She’s a friend, Silvally, it’ll be alright,”

“Where...how…” Melony struggled to figure out how to word it. “This isn’t a Galarian or Kalosian pokemon…”

“Silvally’s from Alola,” Rose said. “Gladion had sent him over a few months back...he found him and two others in the foundation…” 

“I didn’t think Lusamine was much of an explorer…” Melony said slowly. “She looks like she’d float away with a small breeze,” Rose snorted.

“I mean you aren’t wrong…” He laughed gently, trailing off with a sigh. “I hope that they’re alright…I don’t even know how to start explaining this to everyone outside the region…”

“Let’s not worry about this now,” Melony said. “It’s our break, and you need to not push yourself too hard.” Rose didn't answer and Melony frowned. She took his shoulder. "This is all going to be something the entire region will have to recover from. This isn't like a champion quitting, a gym leader or trainer caught cheating, this is a lot more damaging," 

"I know, I know...it’s just…" He sighed as he leaned against the counter. "I trusted her, Mel; she was my right hand, and she played me for a fool…I-I didn't see-" Rose shuddered, fighting back tears, as he wiped his face. Melony held him close as his pokemon nudged and rubbed against him, not saying anything as she gently rubbed his back. It was safe to say that Oleana was pretty lucky she was arrested and sitting in a jail cell as Melony was certainly wanting to introduce the former vice president to the front of her knuckles or the cane that Mr. Rime used. Speaking of which, her pokemon freed themselves to help comfort the man, which startled the Perrserker who wasted no time in chewing them out. Rose and Melony watched as the Mr. Rime took the bait and argued back, prompting the former Cufant to scoop up the cat.

"Oh boy…" Melony laughed. "They waste no time in getting into mischief…"

"They love each other," Rose snarked, getting looks of horror and offense from the two pokemon while the other pokemon snickered. "You both know I'm right." He looked at Melony with a weak smile. "How about we order take away and binge that new series Siebold helped judged?" Melony’s eyes lit up.

"Oh that would be wonderful! I've been seeing the gifs of him all over and I am dying to see what happens!" The two smiled and with the help of their pokemon, ordered their food and made their way to the living room to finally relax.


End file.
